


Through Thick and Thin

by QRTZ



Series: City of Dreamers [1]
Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Eventual Romance, Explicit Language, F/F, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, Mild Smut, Past Torture, Slow Burn, Streetkid V
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:00:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28187286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QRTZ/pseuds/QRTZ
Summary: Following the trail to find Evelyn, V runs into the person that she didn't expect to see or hear from again. Since running into Judy, V can't help but feel obligated to help not only Judy, but hopes that it’ll help her in the end too.
Relationships: Judy Alvarez/Female V
Series: City of Dreamers [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189982
Comments: 35
Kudos: 367





	1. In Pieces

“3...2...1..Now!” V yanked the cord attached to Evelyn’s head. As soon as the woman’s forehead slumped onto her collarbone, V allowed herself to breathe and let her field of vision expand back to its original state. Not letting too much of the adrenaline wear off, V picked up Evelyn and quickly scanned her body. “Judy! She’s not breathin’ that good! We’ve gotta get the hell outta here  _ now _ !” Trying not to slip on all of the unidentifiable fluids, and other junk on the floor V marched across the room. Exiting the door of the horrid torture chamber, V listened to Judy’s footsteps following close behind her. “Come on, V! Let’s take this elevator!”

Judy forcefully opened the doors of the back of her van, “V, get in. I’ll drive.” The doors of the van slammed behind her and V looked down at Evelyn’s bloodied, battered face.  _ Hang on, Evelyn.  _ She looked up at Judy, who was indefinitely speeding down the street, making V concerned on whether any of them would make it to their destination in one piece.  _ Not for my sake, but… for Judy. Please.  _ Feeling a forceful slam of the brakes coming on, V slipped her hand behind Evelyn’s head so the woman wouldn’t receive any more trauma than she already has. Especially not in her care, if she could help it. 

When the van came to a full stop, V picked herself up then Evelyn’s semi-lifeless body. The doors of the van flung open and the first thing V can see is Judy’s worried face. Someone who seemed to be in pure pain and agony, but had no physical wounds. Though she knew that the non-physical injuries tend to be the worst in some cases. 

Relieved to finally reach the final step in the apartment building, V marched through the door of Judy’s apartment and placed Evelyn down on the bed. “V. Let me take care of this. Can you wait outside?” As V went to leave the room, Judy spoke again, “If you’d like you can use the bathroom to clean yourself up, you’re covered in blood. And please close the door on your way out.” 

With a tired smirk, V replied, “Alright… Thanks, Judy.” After closing the door, V calmly walked to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Studying her reflection, the sun-kissed skin of her face was covered in blood. Her raven-black hair had blood in it too. Johnny suddenly appeared behind her. “You look like shit, but you don’t look worse than the one in the other room.” V narrowed her gaze,  _ You mean Evelyn, don’t you?  _ “Yeah, gonna be tough for her to get over this. Even with that fuckin’ chip in her head.” V locked eyes with Johnny,  _ Can I just wash my face in peace? Or is that too bold of a request?  _ “Fine.” In a blink, Johnny disappeared. 

Scrubbing her hands, V tried the best that she could to get the blood off of her hands and then her face. She looked at the door of the bathroom, it reminded of similar events of a time not long past. But V knew that if she left the bathroom this time, she wouldn’t receive a knock over the head and a bullet in it too. At least, she hadn’t figured that she’d royally fucked up that bad to get shot in the head again. The bathroom door opened quietly and V walked over and plopped onto Judy’s couch. 

Not much time had passed and V watched Judy tiredly walk through the door of the bedroom. “I’ve got something. A BD. Should give you a lead on where Ev got her information about your chip… or from who at least.” V followed Judy in what seemed to be a techno-den, there were at least a half a dozen monitors attached to the wall and just random bits of tech all throughout the room. “Sit down there and I’ll get you plugged in.” V plopped down in the place Judy told her to go and entered the braindance. 

After what seemed like a long time, V looked at the mark that seemed to be just a huge, impending wall inside the braindance. “I-I don’t recognize that symbol, V. Do you?” With a soft exhale, V replied, “Yeah. I do. That’s the Voodoo Boys. We’ve got everything we need. Close the BD.” The headset came off with a gentle metallic click. “You know ‘em?” V gently met Judy’s gaze, “No. Not personally, but thanks to my line of work I’ve heard the name tossed around. Got some people I can call, see if I can get in contact. You need something… anything, don’t hesitate to call.” As V tried to leave, Judy called out. “Hey, V! Make it count.” 

V replied with a ragged, low tone, “I will. And I was serious, you need anything you let me know.” Leaving the apartment, V flipped through her phone, and knew just who to call. As the Holo rang, V thought of Judy’s worry-stricken face and Evelyn’s bloody one, then someone picked up.

“Yo Hands, it’s V. I need your help.”


	2. Night of Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's like any other night in Night City for V, taking contracts and killing people. But a certain call changes that.

“Quite the goddamn mess you’ve made.” V glanced over at Johnny’s flickering apparition sitting on a crate across the alleyway, then to the dozen-and-a-half of bodies that laid strewn across the long barely illuminated path. The light seemed fixated on their glinting blood, rather than their faces. Averting her eyes away from the silent, bloody mess, V took a drink of the lukewarm beer in her hand. “You mean the bodies, or how my life itself is in fuckin’ shambles?” Her voice was low and beyond ragged, exhausted still from finding the Voodoo boys and what little answers she got from it. 

“The first specifically, and the second in general. You look the part too.” V leaned the back of her head against the cold, steel building and took a slow, deep breath. “I haven’t slept in what feels like days. All this shit s’been a real pain in the ass.” Leaning forward, she combed the long right side of her bob-cut hair away from her face and looked back to Johnny. “If we can find Hellman and work with that corpo, than Alt can-” 

“Can what? Tell me to choose to live or die?” V’s voice was hollow, cold, but calm. “Let’s just talk about it when we have more to go on. That fine?” Johnny flickered and disappeared and one last word came through. “Fine.” She sensed that Silverhand was almost pouting, or something of the sort. Maybe he was tired too. 

As soon as V turned the corner of the alleyway, her holo started to ring.  _ Oh, it’s Judy.  _ She answered the holo and Judy was frantic. Even more frantic than the other night. “V, I need your help, now! How quick can you get here!?” She thought for a second, “Uh- about ten minutes give or take as long-” Judy cut her off, “Alright, get here as fast as you can!” The call ended. As V stomped to her bike, she only had one thought.

_ I’ve gotta bad feeling about this.  _

V camly pushed the call button of Judy’s apartment and the door opened. “In the bathroom!” As soon as she turned the corner, all she could see was the white bathtub stained in different shades of red and Evelyn’s lifeless body in the center. V whispered to herself, “Oh Jesus... fuck..” V looked at Johnny who appeared behind Judy, “So she offs herself to show her undying gratitude to her savior for pulling her ass out of the fire.” V threw her eyes at Johnny.  _ Shut the fuck up. Now is not the time for that shit.  _ “I was--I was only gone an hour…” V kneeled down in front of Judy. “Gotta do somethin’ with her. Whatta need me to do?” Judy lifted her head from her hands, “Gonna call the badges, can you carry her to the bed?” V genelty picked Evelyn up and carried her to the other room to the bed. 

After placing Evelyn down on the bed, V walked out of the room and leaned against the end of the kitchen counter, zoned out. She could hear Judy talking in the other room, though she didn’t really focus on what she was saying, but that talking soon turned to shouting. Suddenly, a very,  _ very _ pissed Judy trudged out of the bathroom and stopped in the kitchen, screaming at who V assumed to be a NCPD dispatcher. “-if she had coverage we wouldn’t be talkin’! Fuck you! How about I come down to the precinct myself and blow the damn place to bits, now would you come and arrest me you fucking pussies!? I don’t give a fuck about what you write me up for!” Finally, she hung up the call and turned to V. “Wanted me to put her on ice and they would come and take a look tomorrow! Can you believe the balls!?” She heard Judy flop down onto the bed in the other room. The sink’s handle creaked and V sighed as she washed the blood off of her hands, while grabbing a nearby towel. “Well… I’d say you went easy on them anyhow.” V wrung out the towel and walked to the other room. “I gotta do something with her. Rather she look like a person than a body.” In her mind, V commended Judy for trying as hard as she is, considering the fact she must feel pretty shitty right about now. 

“Before that… look up at me.” V held up the damp rag, “Mind if I help you out a bit? Gotta little on ya there.” Starting with the right side, V tried her best to get most of the black streaks and bits of blood off of Judy’s face. “Thanks, V.” She sounded defeated, but V smirked back, “Don’t mention it.” After finishing, Judy spoke up. “Hey V, could you wait outside please? Close the door on your way out.”

“Got any cigarettes? Haven’t smoked in years… quit… but right now I don’t give a damn. Need something in my lungs ‘sides air. Please, V, just one.” V handed her Evelyn’s cigarette case, she watched as Judy traced her hand over it after getting out and lighting a cigarette. “You want it back?” Judy shook her head, “No, you keep it. Can see you’ve grown more attached to it than me.” She took the case back from Judy and glanced back down at it.  _ Only because some tapeworm in my head is trying to give me an addiction to satisfy his own. As if I’ll let it actually happen though.  _ “I let her down,V. Though if I gave her space. Or time. That she would get back on her feet again…” V looked down at her feet. She knew how bad Judy was hurting, but unlike Judy, she never had the chance to grieve her losses.”Stay strong, Judy.” Judy snapped back, “That’s what they all say.” V’s tone turned cold. “Don’t be like me. Allow yourself time to grieve. I didn’t and it bites me in the ass everyday.” 

Judy let out a long sigh. “ I want to, but… Her condition. It’s eatin’ at me- her doll shard was operational, uncorrupted… So, it musta been psychological. Did some diggin’ in her virtus and found Woodman.” V remembered that slimy bastard, and regretted that she hadn’t killed him the day she saw him. “He kept her. Had his way with her. Once he got bored… he pawned her off.” V glanced back up at Judy, “I knew that bastard was bad news, had no idea he was that bad though. Saw him more or less as your average scummy shitstain.” Judy flicked away her cigarette, “Yeah, he’s got a pretty convincing facade. I knew him, but never knew him to be that sick in the brain. Gotta be somethin’ I can do.” V leaned back in her chair. “Like what, ya reckon’?” 

“I don’t know yet. Might call Suze. Thanks again, V. But I’d rather be alone now. Promise to keep in touch.” V crossed her arms, “You sure you don’t need anything?” Judy cracked a small smile, “No, but sweet of you to ask.” V stood up from her chair. “Alright then, if anything comes up.. holler on the holo. Just don’t take out my eardrum.” As she walked away, she could hear a slight laugh out of Judy. V slightly propped her body against her bike.  _ Storm’s a brewin’. But first… need sleep.  _ The bike roared to life and V started to travel down the streets of Night City once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy nearly 500, wooooo~. I'm back at it again, you best believe I wrote this shit in about 2 hours. Hope you enjoyed the dumpster fire kiddiesss, toodaloo~ I'll be back sooonn. >:)


	3. Another Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long nights. Another call.

V leaned her head back onto the old brick wall of the dark, lonely alleyway. It felt as if her brain was about to hit the eject button and catapult out of both of her ears. She slowly slid down the wall until she was on the ground, her face cupped in her hands. With all the effort she could muster, V tried to steady her breathing. “Fuck… fuckin’ piece of shit.” Her voice only a hushed whisper. Finally, it went away and V took a long slow breath, just to make sure it was over. After taking her hands away from her face, V combed the long part of her hair back to its original left side, over her eye. With the help of a nearby crate and the wall behind her V miraculously, to her surprise, was able to get off of the ground. After her phone vibrated in her pocket, V used that same dumpster to prop herself up to check who it was. It was Judy. V had a quick thought to herself.  _ Feels like I’ve seen a lot of her lately.  _ She looked down at the screen at the quick succession of words.

_ Hey _

_ Buried Ev today _

_ Columbarium near North Oak _

_ Thought you might want to know _

V gently rubbed the back of her buzzed head, trying to find the words she felt like she should say. 

_ Thanks _

_ How ya feeling? _

The woman sat there in a moment of silence until there was a response. 

_ I intend to get thoroughly shitfaced today _

V wryly smirked at the thought.

_ Well if it's away from home call me if you need a pick up _

_ And a word of advice from someone who’s experienced too many bar fights _

_ If you land in prison _

_ Establish dominance _

_ Quickly _

Relaxing her arm, V sighed, hoping that she hadn’t said too much or something stupid. Not after long, her phone vibrated again.

_ Thanks for the offer _

_ Sounds like that last parts gotta story behind it _

_ You’ll have to tell me sometime _

V quickly replayed in her head that one night in Atlanta about a year and a half ago. Then she responded, ending the conversation.

_ I’ll think about it _

Hours had gone by. With her head propped up at the head of the sofa, V gradually let the bass of the nearby stereo hum her to sleep. Its existence slowly faded, just as she was now. Though she didn’t let that idea worm itself into her head that far in that moment. Teetering on the edge of consciousness and slumber, her holo going off was the only thing that pulled her away, knowing who it probably was.

“Hey… Judy. How ya feelin’?” She hoped that she didn’t sound as exhausted as she felt. “Were you sleepin’? Can call you back later if you want.” V leaned up from her seat and stood up, “Nah, it’s cool. But you didn’t answer my question. How ya feelin’?” Judy let out a heavy sigh. “Shitty. But somethin’ came to me.” In the back of her mind, V knew where this was probably going, but she decided to go along with it anyways. She tried to respond in the most calm voice that she could muster, “You ‘member what I said last time, right? Gotta let yourself time to grieve Judy. Wade through the shit, muck, and whatever the fuck. The depression, anger and other bullshit. Just-just let ‘em play out.” Judy quickly retorted, “Well I’d say I’m on anger. Gonna stay for a while too. I can work with anger.”

V sighed, “Seein’ as I can’t change how ya feel, what’d you come up with exactly?” Propping herself against the wall near the window, she started to listen. “So, Lizzie’s Bar, used to be a joyhouse. Tyger Claws killed one girl too many, so people-” V cut her off, “Yeah, got your chromed-up, modern-day, reversed Liz Borden tale from the bartender the first time I came there. Wait… hold on.” Taking in what she had previously said, and what she could remember that was said. V came to one conclusion, “You wanna do the same thing to Clouds that the Mox did to the Tyger Claws. Pull the rug right from under their fuckin’ feet. Question is, how the hell you get the Mox to agree to that?” 

“I didn’t. Tryin’ to get you actually. Know someone at Clouds who’ll take our side. Will you help?” V cupped her hand to her forehead and tried to think of an answer. “ _ Fine.  _ Guess I’ll help.” She heard Judy let out a breath of relief. “Woo, yes!”  _ Guess she somewhat expected that I’d turn her down. Not surprising though, considering what we’re probably gonna do.  _ “Ok. Now that you’ve roped me in, what’s the plan?” 

“First- gotta talk with Maiko Maeda. If she ain’t with us, might as well throw our hands up in the air.” 

“Who’s she exactly?”

“Girl who unofficially runs Clouds. Damn good at it too.”

“She do anything… officially?” 

“She’s a doll. So she’s a nobody.” V sensed a little contempt behind those words, or maybe pain. It was too hard for her to tell. 

“Seems like you know Clouds pretty well, or the people there at least.”

“Used to work there. Helped ‘em out with their behavioral chips.”

“Why’d you leave?”

“Didn’t like the vibe. Place reeked of exploitation.” V slightly arched her brow.  _ Oh, ‘Didn’t like the vibe’ she says. Her and Misty would get along. In some way… probably. What would they even talk about? Probably- _

“V? You there?”

“Uh… yeah. Spaced out for a moment. Sorry. So you sure Maiko’s gonna even wanna join forces?” 

“If I was sure, I’d be on the holo with her, and we wouldn’t be even havin’ this conversation.”

“ _ Ouch.  _ Let me ask a better question. S’there a chance that we go, get slapped around, like it most often happens, then get a foot planted in our asses, and we go soaring out of her megatower window?” 

“Yep.”

“Guess I can work with it. So how well y’know her anyway?”

“Too well.” 

“Sounds unfortunate, so when we doin’ this?”

“Trust me, it is, and early morning. Clouds will be closed- hardly a soul lurkin’ at that time.”

“How early we talkin’ here?”

“Before eight. I’ll be by the entrance… Nah, scratch that- the balcony above Clouds. We’ll sneak in, no one needs to know that we’re there.”

“On the balcony. Got it.” The call cut off, and V looked at the time.  _ 11:07 P.M. Gotta while.  _ She sighed and glanced at the neon, techno colored lights of Night City. _ Hope this goes well.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Chrysler, Happy Hyundai and Feliz Sonata, or something. I've returned once more. I just wanna say thank you for this reaching nearly 1500 reads, its really fucking insane to me. I don't understand how it happened and how people are enjoying it. But yay! Anyways, everyone have a safe holiday, I'm gonna take a little time for this next chapter and the ones after it, so they'll take a little longer, but its fine. It'll be fine, I promise. Anyways, I'll be back. Enjoy my dumpster fire again.


	4. Morning Rituals and Other Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V meets Judy at Clouds, and things go down.

_5:30 A.M. Should be here any minute._ Judy took a long drag of her cigarette, while keeping an eye out for V. A silhouette with some familiar resemblance and movement caught her eye. It was V, clad in black combat boots and jeans that had rips in several places. Then to top it all off, a dark motorcycle jacket and underneath seemed to be a band t-shirt. 

“Hey, V. Thanks for showin’.” Judy put her mouth to her cigarette again while V spoke. “Sorry to make you wait, traffic’s a bitch.” After blowing out smoke, she replied. “It’s cool. Alright, ‘fore we go in there remember, talkin’ with Maiko is like a game of 3-D chess- don’t let her derail you.” She watched V’s face turn a bit solemn. “Straight to business then. Y’know, you look like a tight bundle of nerves over there.” 

“Wanna kill the bastards with my bare hands. So yeah… you could say that I’m a teensy bit nervous.” 

V crossed her arms and leaned on a nearby crate. “Got any detes about Maiko for me that might be useful ‘fore we head in? Y’know, for when I’m talkin’ to her?”

“Nope, leave the talkin’ to me.” 

The dark-clad woman arched her brow and slightly cocked her head. “Come again?”

“Known ‘er longer. Be more likely to listen.” 

V uncrossed her arms and put them at her sides, and her calm expression came back. “So how d’you even plan to convince her to even listen to us?” 

Judy took her cigarette away from her mouth again. “I’ll tell her about Evelyn. What happened. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to improvise.”

An audible sigh could be heard from V’s direction. “Welp. Better than nothin’. I’m ready, let’s do this.”

Walking to the nearby panel Judy started to get the door open. “Hold on, I’ll get the door.”

“Seems like you’ve come this way before. More’n once.” V’s voice was much closer than she thought it would’ve been. Judy felt a small upturn of a grin on her face. “Hm, I have, on occasion.” After the last switch, came the green light to get the door open. “Easy as paella. Come on, follow me.” While walking, she could feel V’s intimidating presence behind her.

“Judy Alvarez, I’d say it’s great to see you but I’ve never been one to lie.” It was Maiko alright. A facade of prim and proper, something that she was far from. Along with a side of shit charisma. “Also I never like surprise parties, which you know.” 

Judy snapped back, while trying to not go too far. “Yep, bet I even know why.”

“Though you’d hit rock bottom when you joined the Mox. Guess you’ve managed to stoop even lower, now. Consorting with a persona who is very non grata…” She glanced over at V, who’s gaze, if looks could kill, would slice Maiko in half. “Yes, V- I mean you.”

The black-clad woman folded her arms, her killer gaze unchanging. “Guess I left a lasting impression. Good. Only thing I regret s’that I could’ve taken things further, but didn’t.” V’s voice was lower than it’s usual low, it was gravely and rugged. Nonetheless, it could make the average street thug shit themselves. “But, paid you one visit and you manage to remember me. How flattering.”

Maiko spoke up. “Well, my job, among other things, is to remember unsavory customers. Naturally, I take it upon myself to deal with them, too. Now how’m I to deal with you?”

V took a few steps closer to Maiko. “Hah! Well, for starters, _if_ _others that you know_ _would take it on themselves to do their fuckin’ job…_ we wouldn’t be havin’ this conversation! But that ain’t the point, what you’ve gotta settle ain’t with me.” She could feel V point at her. “It’s with Judy. So if you don’t mind me, I’m gonna blend in with the decor while you ladies settle things.”

Maiko leaned forward in her chair. “I’m not here to make other people do their jobs. But, what you’ve said isn’t a reason, so why come at all?”

V narrowed her eyes further. Judy could see the tight grip V had on her own arm, and silently hoped that she wasn’t gonna break her own arm. “I’m here to make sure Judy gets what she came for.”

“Jude woulda had a better chance without you.” 

Judy glanced over at V again. “Startin’ to think blowin’ hot air is all you’re good at, you fuckin’ one-trick pony.”

With a swift movement, Maiko lifted herself from her chair. “A pathetic attempt at getting under my skin. What’s next? Threats?”

“Actin’ like you’re done talkin’, ain’t even hear what Judy’s gotta say. ‘Sides can’t ever be sure ‘nough to rule out violence, hairdryer.” 

Finally, Judy decided that she’d had enough and slammed her hands against Maiko’s desk. “You two done bickering over diddly squat?! ‘Cause if you are, I’d like to get down to biz.” 

Maiko turned around from her position in front of the door of her office. “Here’s the thing- literally in moments security’ll figure out you’re here. Got two options- go out the way you came in, or get thrown out. And that’s not a threat or a figure of speech. Just a friendly heads up.” She started to edge her way closer. “And don’t get me wrong, Jude. I’d gladly sit and catch up. Been quite a while since we last talked.” She backed away from Maiko’s hand as it lightly grazed her cheek. “But you’re not safe here at Clouds. Especially not with her by your side.”

Judy looked over at V and back to Maiko. “Had enough. I’m leavin’.”

“Smart move. And before you go, Woodman’ll be on the maintenance level alone in a few minutes. Just to let you know.”

V retorted back at Maiko while on their way out. “When you finally decide to leave your office and do somethin’ productive. Don’t let the door hit ya in the ass! Hell! From what I’ve seen it might hit your ego first! Least it’s a bit more inflated and realistic!”

If she wasn’t so frustrated, Judy sensed that she might’ve laughed. She plopped on the crate that V propped herself up against earlier. “That went… smoothly. Augh, she didn’t even let me make my point.” 

She watched V lean on the edge of the crate, about a foot away from her. “Yeah, ‘bout as smooth as low-grit sandpaper. But she might need time to think is all, couple days tops.” Judy looked down toward the ground. “Might be right.” She slid down from the box and started walking, and heard V close behind. 

“So… you two have a history?” Judy kept her gaze forward and continued walking. “Way back, yeah. Think I just felt lonely.” Easing her way down the ladder, she heard V’s response. “Like everyone in Night City.” Down the last step, she looked up at the other woman. “She was different then. And so was I.” She could hear V making her way down the ladder. “Can’t trust people who see everything as a numbers game. Line ‘tween pattin’ you on the back and stabbin’ you are down to a blurry line or a certain decimal as time goes on.”

Judy continued walking. “I know- right there with you. I… well, I used to have a big crush on her. Took me a long time to realize who she really was. But still… honest or crooked, we need her.”

“As they say, ‘Love is blind, and a deaf-mute too.’ Some can escape it, others ain’t so lucky.” 

She looked up at V. “Where’d you learn that from?” V’s gaze met hers. “A book, think it was called… _A Wise Man’s Fear_. May have been raised on the streets, but always read when I could. Still try sometimes.”

Judy sighed. “It’s the same for me with divin’. Huh, just think, I coulda gone divin’ this mornin’...”

“Thinkin’ a little unwindin’d do you good. Do me good too, actually.” Judy didn’t doubt that for a second, considering what both of them had been through. 

“It wouldn’ta been unwindin’, not exactly. Got an idea buzzin’ in my mind, workin’ it, but I can’t say if it’ll amount to anything.”

She overheard V snort behind her. “Puh! Yeah. I can imagine it now. You, a deckchair, and a Mai Tai with a little cocktail umbrella. Don’t forget the unwavering and huge amount of dissatisfaction that’ll stem from not doin’ nothin’. So yeah, can imagine it, can’t feasibly see it.”

“Yeah, nope! Me in a deckchair’s me mullin over coulda, shoulda, wouldas- somethin’ I avoid right now.”

The walk continued in silence until both of them reached the elevator. Judy stopped in front of the elevator and whipped around to V, “Wait. What about Woodman?”

She watched V cross her arms. “Well, what do _you_ wanna do?”

“I want somebody to unload lead in his face till there is no face.” 

V’s brow raised, “ _Somebody_?”

Judy threw up her arms. “ _Fine…_ Want you to do it.”

“Well, I ain’t got an ounce of sympathy for the motherfucker.”

“So… we goin’ there?” Judy felt herself tense up. 

“Damn straight. This ends. _Now._ ” She followed V into the elevator. 

V marched out of the elevator, and rounded the corner, putting Woodman into sight. 

Woodman blew out the smoke of his cigarette. “The fuck are you two doing here? Where’s Maiko? Why’d she fuckin’ call-?” She watched as soon as V was within reach, she slammed Woodman against the wall. Her left forearm tightly pressed against his throat, the barrel of her revolver pressed to his gut. 

“Woodman, Woodman, _Wood-man_.” V’s voice in a low singsong, as if she were about to sing a nice lullaby. But the only thing she was about to do, was to greet another soul towards the arms of death. “You poor, pitiful fuckin’ shitstain. Took you as an average sleazebag, ya know that? Evelyn. She’s dead. Thinkin’ you already know that.” 

“Wh-what? You come here just to tell me that? Fucking kind of you to remember. Here. Go light a candle.” Judy watched V spit in Woodman’s face and pull back the hammer of her gun. “Would rather stick the candle up your ass, but think you’d enjoy it too much.” V’s voice reached that gravely tone that she had when speaking with Maiko earlier. “Y’know, when Evelyn needed your help, _you raped her_.” 

“Could-Could’ve also broken her neck- hung her head up li-like a chandelier til it started to rot.” He was struggling to speak, probably because V was increasing the force of her forearm on his throat. Judy spat at Woodman, making sure to hit his foot. “Inst-Instead I took her to a ripper. Was due a little some-something in return. She should be gr-grateful. And so should… you.”

V sneered in a way that was something evil, it matched the tattoo of what seemed to be a set of teeth on her neck and a set of scales accompanying it, running up her neck to her ears. “Well I’m grateful for this chance right now, asshole. Should’ve done this the first time so… Go. Fuck. Your. Self.” V shot him in the gut, and as Woodman slowly slid down the wall, another round was fired. Right between his eyes. 

V turned to her, her face calm again. “Sorry. Should’ve uh… You know what, n-nevermind. Le-Let’s just go.” 

Judy flopped onto the floor of the elevator. “I thought I’d, uh… feel more… I’d be satisfied. That he’s dead. Ugh. Punch the ground floor… Need to get out of this place.” The elevator started to move. “Almost felt like the world’d be a better place once he died. And the feeling… It was so fuckin’ strong.”

She looked up to V who was crouched in front of her. “World has changed. Think. Other girls that could have been in danger, that didn’t even know, aren’t in danger no more.” The elevator stopped. “Guess you may be right.” V reached out her hand. “Here.” She took it. “Thanks.”

The rain was falling heavy on the streets in the early morning of Night City. Judy leaned against the rail of the bottom of the stairs, lighting a cigarette. “I gotta get back to Maiko with somethin’ big.”

“So appealin’ to her sense of justice wasn’t big enough?”

“Maiko only works with specifics.” She took another drag of her cigarette.”

“Hm. For a minute there, thought you were ‘bout to call it quits.”

“V… I go for days tunin’ virtus in a basement. Know what the chances are of someone blowin’ my head off down there.” 

V folded her arms and smirked. “Minuscule at worst?”

“Same as Maiko’s empathy. Unlike you, I don’t put myself out there. But this ain’t over- not yet.” 

“Y’know, I’m also partial to specifics.”

Judy retorted. “Uh-huh, so that’s what matters. How many you’ll drop, how much ammo you’ll use how many eddies it’ll getcha?”

Letting out a heavy sigh, V glanced back at her. “Art and dreams of freedom can’t be everyone’s food. Sometimes… you gotta deal with the dirt and other shit. So… what now?” 

“Gotta think. We need more bodies, that’s for sure. I’m gonna talk to the dolls. What about you?”

V uncrossed her arms. “Me? ‘Bout to do my wondrous morning ritual, you’re more than welcome to join me if you'd like.”

“And what would that be?”

“Breakfast. Duh. One of the very few things I look forward to. People don’t understand how great it is to go early in the morning, get a coffee, and watch people scramble to get to their corporate jobs on time.” Judy met V’s eyes again. “So- what’ll it be?”

She decided to give in. “Fine, haven’t ate anyway.” V smilied, which was probably a rare sight to see. “Here. Take this.” Judy glanced and saw that V was handing her jacket to her. “Keep it.” 

“Nope. You’re takin’ it. ‘Sides it’s rainin’, if I need one, got another in my car.” Judy reluctantly took the leather motorcycle jacket and put it on. “Thanks, V.” 

“You’re welcome, follow me.”

V’s car had a shiny silver body and black accents on it. It was a damn nice car. “Shit. When’d you get this?” V opened the passenger door of her car. “Not too long ago, here you go.” Judy got in and the door closed on its own. She averted her eyes to the dash to the word _Quadra._ With the rain beating against the car, Judy watched V hop into the car. “A Quadra?” 

“Avenger. Like I said, got it not too long ago, was a deal through one of the fixers I work with. Place I go ain't too far from here, you ready? And by the way, try not to mind my music choice. It ain’t the best.”

Judy glanced over, “I’m ready, and can’t be too bad. Just have to see.” 

As they drove off, a song started to play. It was relaxed, something that Judy didn’t expect to come from V. She leaned back in her seat and stared out of the window covered in water droplets. Then the lyrics started to play.

_‘I knew it from the get-go_

_Yeah, baby, I could tell_

_But there’s no need to worry_

_‘Cause I’m wired just the same way’_

_‘I wanted to continue_

_But my storage was full_

_Seems like the universe said that_

_The right time for me is not right now, no’_

_‘But who am I_

_To make out why_

_Rain pours down on both of the sides_

_You ask me what to do next_

_Baby, there is no plan_

_The weather doesn’t matter when it comes down to this’_

_‘When I die_

_Look at the sky_

_You’ll see me saying my last goodbye_

_Rain will stop pouring that night_

_Baby I’ll make it stop_

_Just so you know, I made the right choice, I’m happy the way it turned out’_

_‘I’m sorry that I ghosted_

_But I was bored of the same conversations_

_Hey how you doing_

_I’m doing fine thanks_

_Unmatch, repeat, delete, oh well’_

Before the song could end, the ride was over. The stereo turned off and Judy looked toward V. “Nice song. What was it?” V smirked. “Tell ya over some coffee. Come on, let’s go have some fun. Think you’ll like this place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost. I claim no rights to song used in this chapter(please don't sue me) it's called Japanese Pancakes by Fran Vasilić and it's an absolute bop. I recommend it. Listen to it, vibe and shit. Anyways it's me, I'm back again. Bruh, like the amount of support is insane and I can't thank everyone enough for it, but I'm here to serve what I'm doin'. So here it is. Tomorrow I'm gonna do the Diner chapter. Goin' in to V's backstory to give you a sneak-peak on what it's gonna be about. It's gonna be good. Anyways, enjoy my dumpster fire once more. Toodles~
> 
> Edit: Forgot to include this earlier. HAPPY NEW YESR EVERYBODY!!! Hope this year treats everyone okay.


	5. In a Diner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V and Judy spend some of their morning in a dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote all of this in one sitting, be warned. It took like three hours.

The air was filled with the smell of synth-coffee, or stench depending on who you’re talking to. Along with the other accompanying smells of various breakfast foods and the constant low chattering, this place perfectly fit the stencil of an early morning diner. Though in her sights, wasn’t the people in the diner or the food. Nope, not one bit. V was. Peering from the menu at every chance she could get, Judy tried her best not to make her staring obvious. V’s wet hair was combed away from her eye, making her whole face visible. The woman was too attractive for her own good in her opinion. Judy felt her heart slip when V’s violet eyes locked with hers. 

There was an awkward silence for a while. Struggling to think, Judy scrambled in her mind to find something. Then, she found it. “So… know you said you’d think about it, but what’s the story behind that text you sent the other day? If you don’t mind sharin’ that is…” God, she felt awkward, but V's expression relaxed, which made her relax too. “Well… about two years ago I moved out to Atlanta. Thought I’d find ‘greener pastures’ maybe. Hell if I know, wanted to get away from Night City. Escape.” Almost as if she was embarrassed, V rubbed the back of her head. “I was out one night, ‘bout six months of bein’ there. I was out Drinkin’. Drinkin’ heavy too. Bar was an absolute shithole, and lotta conflict happenin’ on the block at the time. I was sittin’ down, tryin’ to enjoy my tequila when I hear three chooms goin’ at it across the bar. Don’t know if they actually were chooms, but anyways… they take things a bit far.” V folded her arms and sat up straight. “Somebody ended up throwin’ somethin’ in the wrong direction, and that was the swift kick to the hornet’s nest. Everybody starts throwin’ shit. Guy next to me gave me a wrong look, so I grabbed his head and slammed him into the bar since I had the chance. He was smooth-out after that. Then I got a chair to the back of the head.” V smiled and let out a quick chortle. Using what energy she had, Judy tried her best to stop her heart from melting at the sight. “Cops come pretty quickly from what I remember. We tore the shit outta that bar by the time they got there. Like, holy hell.” 

Judy found it hard to believe that this was the same person who shot Woodman in cold blood almost an hour ago, but truth be told he did deserve it. Smiling again, V continued on, and Judy listened intently. “But cops get there and they kick down the door. We all stop and look at ‘em. Somebody then yelled ‘Everbody fuckin’ scatter!’ and boy did we fuckin’ scatter. People jumped out of windows or charged into the backrooms. While others were arrested. Like myself. Tried to get out through the backrooms and some asshole pulled me between him and the cops. Spent two nights in jail. I was pretty pissed ‘cause they shaved my head, ‘mean they do it to everybody, but I was only there for two days! That night made me picky and cautious when choosin’ a bar from then on. That’s about it.” 

It was plain to see on her face, and V could see that Judy was surprised. “Two days? And they  _ shaved  _ your head?” Letting it be the answer to the question, V smiled.  _ ‘Remember back in my days that-’  _ V cut her gaze over to Johnny flickering image. ‘ _ Another time old timer. Please?’  _ Silverhand shook his head and disappeared. ‘ _ Alright, have it your way.’  _

Their food finally came, and both of them took bites here and there.

V took a sip of her coffee, the coffee was better than usual, maybe it was the company. She didn’t know or dwell on it long either. “What made you come back to Night City?” Puffing air from her nose, V slouched. “Was born here. Heywood. City’s quicksand, got pulled back in. But Atlanta didn’t have as much opportunity as I thought. So that could’ve had some part too.” Drumming her fingers on the table, she heard Judy speak again. “Any family? Friends? Made you come back?” V could feel her face go still. “Nope… no family. Mom was a joytoy and a drug addict. OD’d when I was seven or eight. As for my pops? Never met him, don’t know ‘bout him either. Just friends and acquaintances here and there.”

Feeling her heart sink, Judy felt like she should try to change the subject. Before she could, V made the gesture. “By that look on your face, I can tell we’re due for a subject change. If you’ve got something, floor’s yours.” With a good amount of effort, Judy racked her brain again. “You-You have a lot of tattoos.” Judy realized she completely stammered. As cute as was, she found it hard to enjoy the small grin that was on V’s face from her own internal embarrassment. “Yep. I do and so do you. Oh! I’ve got something. Which tattoo did ya get first?” Using her right hand, Judy pointed to her upper left arm to the ‘13’ that was there and its surrounding tattoos. “Your turn.” 

When V reached for the collar of her shirt and pulled it down, Judy saw a monarch butterfly surrounded by thorns and roses. After V took her hand away, she found it hard to make the thought of wanting her to do that again go away. “Got it when I was sixteen. There’s more to it, can’t really see it in this shirt though.” That statement made Judy’s mind wander. Wander to dark enough places to make it feel as if her ears were about to sizzle off of her head. “I ended gettin’ more though. I have some on my back, sleeves up both of my legs, and on my stomach and arms. Only place I don’t have a tattoo is on my forearms and other areas. Oh, and my neck and head. Took that opportunity when they shaved my head. But yeah, I do have lots of ‘em. Most painful was prolly my back. Got lots of scars back there. Painful fuckin’ process.”

“How’d that happen?” Realizing that asking that was rude of her, Judy apologized. “Sorry. Shouldn’t’ve asked that.” V smiled that smile of hers again. “It’s alright, Jude. Haven’t told that story in a long time. Tell ya what? Trust you enough. I’ll tell you on the drive home. Come on.”

With a close of the car door, V allowed herself a few breaths. “Remember a few days ago when I said that I knew how Evelyn felt?” Allowing a chortle, she started her car and continued speaking. “You gave me a look like you could rip me in half and said that I had no idea. May not know what she went through entirely, but got roped into an XBD before. Happened when I was seventeen, and the bastards that did it to me are still making money to this day. It was one of those… torture XBDs. I needed the money real bad, and I didn’t want to be a joytoy like my mother. So… ended up bein’ locked in a basement for god knows how long and got scars that I’ll have for the rest of my life. To top it off, gotta pisspour amount of eddies out of it too. That’s why I got the tattoos on my back. Wanted t’cover it up. But not goin’ into too much detail, that’s about it.”

Thinking about when she said that to V, Judy felt her stomach hit the floorboard of the car. Pondering about what happened to Ev and then what probably happened to V, and what she’s now putting V through. She could feel tears at the corners of her eyes. “I-I’m sorry, V. I-I didn’t know.” The car finally stopped in front of her apartment building. “I know you didn’t. Give me a minute, okay?” The woman’s voice was low and gentle. She listened as V got out of the car, and her door opened. “Can you stand for me?” Judy got out of the car and faced V, who could now probably see the stream of tears running down her face. Before Judy knew it, she was wrapped in V’s arms, her nose right above her collarbone. If she wasn’t crying and filled with guilt, she felt that this could have been a perfect moment. “Don’t gotta cry, Judy.” Judy could feel the vibrations of her calm voice. “Listen, I know things have been hard for you as of late. I shouldn’t have told you. So I-I’m sorry.” She glanced up at V. “ _ Shouldn’t  _ have lashed out at you! You’ve done  _ nothing  _ but help me! Hell, you help everybody, V! Even at the expense of yourself!” V huffed. “Yeah. Guilty as charged.” 

Feeling V’s grip loosen, Judy slipped away from V even though she didn’t want to at all. “Just take care of yourself, V. Don’t wanna lose someone else to this damn city. I’ll call you when I’ve got something from Maiko, okay?” V crossed her arms. “Okay, and you be careful too.”

Dragging her hands down her face, V watched Judy walk inside her apartment complex.  _ ‘Boy, got it real bad don’t you?’  _ The old rocker chuckled, and V snapped back.

_ ‘Shut up, Johnny.’  _

Judy opened the door of her apartment and flopped onto her couch. She realized that she still had V’s jacket on. Judy felt bad that she didn’t speak much to V earlier, or that she didn’t have much to say about herself. She felt that she had to make it up to her, that she would. Wrapping her arms around herself, she thought of V, hoping that Night City wouldn’t try to take another person that she cared about away from her again. 

Little did she know that it was already in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am again. Gonna take a couple days for the next chapter. So yeah, thank you guys for all the continued support on this series and I'll be back soon. :)


	6. Talks of a Revolution; Bellow of Actions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V's day starts with conflict and a call. In the evening, she finds herself at Judy's apartment, helping to plan a revolution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have posted last night but AO3's servers decided to be stinky >:( But I made some tweaks today that I'm happy with, so all's well I guess. Also some of the quotes may look bad, it looks fine when I put it in, but when I preview it, it decides to look different. So if it looks dumpy, know that I tried.

Rain slowly dripped further and further down her apartment window. With holo in hand and her arm draped from her bed, V can now only think about Judy after the small fury of texts that she was sent. Thinking of how wonderful, beautiful, and talented she was, and that a person like herself didn’t deserve someone like that. _‘Quit moping.'_ V averted her eyes over to Johnny, who’s silhouette flickered to life onto her couch across the room. “Easy for you to say, you’re not the one moping.” Johnny’s apparition flickered to appear right above her. “Well doin’ it s’not gonna fix a fuckin’ thing.”

V made a noise of low, raspy disgust. “Y’know, you bein’ right s’come one of the things I hate most in life.” The silent ambiance of raindrops on metal, and the never-ending advertisements of the city rang along for a few minutes before Johnny broke the silence. “Listen kid, it’s pretty obvious that your girl likes you. Can tell you feel the same.” He took a puff of the cigarette in his hand. “Gotta figure out what you wanna do.” He flicked the ashes.

Glancing at the old rocker leaned against the window of her apartment, V replied. “She’s not _my girl_.” After giving herself a moment, V collected herself. “But, I… I know I gotta figure out things. It-It’s just… don’t want her to get hurt in the end, y’know? Just need to think about a couple things for a while. But… Thanks, Johnny.” Silverhand’s image flickered away.

_‘Mhm. ‘Member no moping. Or brooding either. Neither will fix a fuckin’ thing.’_

“Oh, _nag, nag, nag_. If by a miracle I run into one of my grandpas… honestly don’t think either would be able to beat you out of the nagging department, old man.” Lifting herself out of bed, V strolled her way across her apartment and out of the door. Off to tackle another day of gigs, all the while thinking of how nice it would be if Judy Alvarez were hers. 

Gunshots peppered the wall, and explosions rang out in different directions. With a horrific shrill, burst, and clang, V came to a conclusion. “ _He’s gotta fuckin’ laser?!_ ” Irritated as all hell, her voice was quiet to make sure not to give away her position just yet. “ _Ugh, a cyberpsycho with a laser. Just what I needed._ ” V peeked over the crate she was hiding behind and looked at the cyberpsycho firing his laser beam around the construction site. “ _Why don’t I get a fuckin’ laser?”_

_‘If you had one, you’d probably end up like him.’_

V tilted her head and lowered herself back behind the crate. “ _You have a point._ ” Her holo started to ring and V fumbled to answer, hoping that the cyberpsycho she was in close proximity to didn’t hear it. 

“ _Hey… Yo, what’s up, Judy? Whatcha need?”_ Her voice raspy while partially speaking through her teeth. “Uh- V? You alright?” V lowered herself further behind the crate.

" _Heh… for now._ ” The laser charged and went off again, unfortunately causing a large crash this time. Judy’s voice came over the holo full of concern. “Now a bad time? Can call you back later-” V cut in. “ _No, no, no, no, no. It-It-It’s fine. I have time._ ” She quickly peered over the crate checking the location of her enemy and then returned to her original position. " _I can make time. Whatcha got for me?"_

“Got in touch with Maiko. We’re havin’ a meeting tonight. My place. You comin’?” V craned her head around the corner of the crate, glancing at the psycho again. “ _Uh- yeah, yeah, yeah. Count me in. I’ll be there._ ” Judy smiled. “Great! And one more thing… whatcha like on your pizza?” Due to the fact that she had enough adrenaline in her body to probably give an elephant a heart attack, V took a moment to actually process such a mundane question. “ _Um- Locust pepperoni and extra cheese. Like… a fuckton of cheese._ ” She listened to Judy’s laugh ring out on the other side of the holo. “Atta girl! Guess I’ll see-”

Before Judy’s sentence could finish, the laser went off again, causing something to blow up. Really fucking loudly. “ _Jesus fuckin’ Christ!_ ” V tried her best to keep herself quiet. Judy looked even more concerned than before. “What the hell’s goin’ on over there?” Dropping her voice as low as it could go, she responded. “ _A cyberpsycho with a big ass laser’s what’s goin’ on! Swear Reggie’s tryin’ to get me launched into the goddamn atmosphere!”_ With her pistol in hand, V decided she needed to wrap things up, quickly. " _Gotta get this taken care of before he collapses the damn place! See ya tonight!”_

V rounded the crate and unloaded the full clip of her pistol into the psycho. When she went to reload, she made the lovely discovery that she was out. _‘You’ve been low on ammo since the job before last.’_ Johnny’s voice was calm, full of that _I-don’t-give-a-fat-shit_ tone that he dons sometimes. “And you didn’t have half the fucking heart to TELL ME?!” V could swear that she heard Johnny softly chuckle. _‘Though you needed to work on your improvisation skills, kid.’_ She threw herself behind the nearest building dodging a hail of gunfire. V holstered her pistol and equipped her mantis blades. Steadfast and very vocal with her irritation of her current situation. “Improvisation my _fat, fuckin’ ass!_ Y’ know- could’ve decided some other way than _this_!” 

‘ _Nah- like this way better. It works. ‘Sides you’re still alive, so you’re doin’ good.’_ V could feel her brow twitch in anger and then she sighed. “Let’s just- Let's just talk about this later.” 

Feeling like she could sink into the seat of her Quadra, V flipped down the mirror and looked in it. To little avail, she attempted to get the bits of blood and dirt off of her face. V pulled the car door handle. “Alright. Let’s do this.” 

It took a moment for the door to unlock and open, and Tom was waiting on the other side. “Hey V, everybody’s in the kitchen.” She closed the door behind her. “Okay, thanks.” Rounding the corner, Judy excitedly piped up. “Heya, V! Glad you could make it! Go ahead and find a place to sit.” V sat down in a chair that was beside an unfamiliar face. “V, this is Roxanne. She’s worked at Clouds longer than anyone.” She averted her eyes to the woman beside her. “Nice to meetcha.” 

“Likewise.” Roxanne’s voice was soft, tense, but she sounded genuine. “When I heard what you pulled at Clouds… Shit, I so regretted that I was off that day.” Tom strolled his way back into the kitchen. “Then there’s Tom, but he told me that you two’ve already met.” 

“Yep. That’s right. How’s things at Clouds?” Tom folded his arms. “I won’t lie. Things are tense. They were tense before but now… now it’s _bad_.” V glanced around the apartment. “So the only one who isn’t here is Maiko?” She turned her head to Judy. “Yep. Still waitin’ on Maiko.” 

Past Roxanne, V could see Johnny leaned against the aquarium. 'Just eat the free pizza and then we’re leavin’, alright?' She looked away from him as she heard the door of the apartment open. Her blood began to boil, when Maiko rounded the corner and made eye contact with her. 

“Well don’t you look like shit?” V leaned onto the counter. “I can say the same for your taste in fashion, or I’ve become reflective and you’ve finally been able to look at yourself.” Maiko snapped back. “I clearly take care of the outside of myself better than you.” A laugh quickly escaped V. “Heh. _Well_ , if you claim to take care of yourself on the outside as much as you do, why don’tcha try an’ care about your personality a bit more? S’like a piece of rotten synth-meat left in the center of the highway in the Badlands.” 

“Well at least I don’t smell like it, in comparison to yourself. But I suppose you can never get rid of the stench of the corpse… You drop a lot of ‘em, don’t you?” Maiko put her hands on the counter and leaned in toward V. “What’s your secret?” In a raspy and low tone, she responded. “Subtlety comes natural to you, doe’n’t it?” When Maiko leaned away, she felt herself start to calm down. "Yeah, it’s odd. Given for how much work I gotta put into it. By the way… Forrest didn’t show up for work today. Or yesterday." V folded her arms, and Johnny quickly butted in. _‘No shit, I wonder why…’_

The silence in that moment was deafening. Finally, the silence was broken. “Prolly sick as a damn dog. Maybe got smart and skipped town. _I don’t know_ an’ frankly I don’t give a damn.” Maiko stopped leaning on the counter. “Maybe he is, maybe he didn’t, who knows?”

“You two done sayin’ hello to each other? Revolution won’t plan itself.” Judy sounded slightly irritated. If not more than slightly. She walked up to Maiko. “I modified the behavioral chip. It can equip the doll with a motor reflex system… In other words, make the doll move and fight like a preem-tier solo.” Gabbing again Maiko looks at both Roxanne and Tome. “Fascinating, isn’t it? What one can learn while tuning fake orgasms for the Moxes.” 

“Mind steppin’ outside? Can’t smoke in here.” Maiko flicked her ashes to the ground. “You can air it out later.” After a few seconds of Judy staring daggers, Maiko retorted. “Fine, I’ll sit by the window.” Wishing that she could throw the bitch out the window, V’s slightly furrowed. Judy turned herself back toward the group. “The body’ll react as if executing a well-trained series of movements.” She placed her hand on Tom. “Already tested it out on Tom.” V watched Tom fold his arms and look in her direction. “Chip’s impulses supplant any natural reflexes, so it’ll make users feel like they’re experiencing cyberpsychosis.” Yes, because another thing that she needed today was another cyberpsycho to fight. Least this time there wouldn’t be a laser involved. 

Tom jumped in. “But it’s basically the same as when we activate ourselves for a client.” V smirked and puffed air from her nose. “Side effects- spill ‘em. Cause tech that’s all pros no cons? I don’t buy it.” Judy leaned against the counter. “Combat mode auto-initiates when a threat is present, and, uh… there’s no way to stop it.” Sounds about right. She pushed herself off the counter. “Can’t find a workaround.” V leaned back in her chair. “That’s it?” 

“I dunno. Only way to determine that’d be through months of testin’ on a range of subjects.” Roxanne spoke up. “There’s an ethical side, too… You could end up murdering someone and not remember a thing!”

“By the way, solo skills _don’t lie_ in just executing movements.” V leaned forward again. “There are split-second processes that happen- logistics, decision-making. Results of years of practice. Trial and error.” Judy replied. “You’re probably right… but I don’t see another way. Alternative’s intensive training, but we don’t have time for that.”

Feeling her patience running low, V glanced at Judy. “Gotta see it to believe it.” Maiko interjected. “Finally, someone said it.” Judy looked at Tom. “Tom?” He lifted himself from his seat and lightly stretched. Grabbing two knives nearby, Tom threw them onto the wall behind her. V could feel the breeze of them pass by her head when both are thrown. As Roxanne was clapping, V turned around and stood up as she looked at the knives jabbed into the wall. “Not bad.” 

Of course, Maiko had to criticize. “Yeha, for the market square in Kabuki. Nah, before we start talkin’ serious biz, gonna need to see serious action.” At that moment, V knew she was about to be ‘volunteered’ for something. “You just saw him…” Maiko complained. “I saw a bar trick. I wanna see a fight.” Maiko made eye contact with her again. “Got an expert in causing bodily harm among us. I wanna see how Tommy handles her.” 

“V?” She averted her eyes to Judy. In a swift movement, V removed her oversized, flannel outershirt and stretched. Half of her spine popped and her shoulders as well. After a deep breath, she walked over to stand in front of Tom. 

V looked over to Tom to see that he was in a boxing position. After months of watching and learning from Jackie and Vik, she decided to take up the same position. With her right foot forward, V went in for a jab. Before she could land a hit, Tom countered and punched her right on the bridge of her nose. And it cracked real fucking loudly. V shambled a few steps back before Tom could pull another fast one. Steadying her breath, she shifted her feet. Now with her left foot forward, V decided to take a different approach. Besides, she never really liked traditional boxing anyways. Not as much as Jackie and Vik. 

V balled her fists and brought them forward to the sides of her face, leaving her face completely open. Tom looked surprised, but he had a small grin. Ultimately making his next move predictable. When he stepped forward, and jabbed his fist in her direction, V dodged and slid her hand the full way up his arm and grappled his shoulder. With all the strength she could muster in her left arm in a downward direction, V delivered a curved knee strike to his ribs. Before he could recover, V took a few steps forward so she could be behind him. Using her right hand to grab a tuft of Tom’s hair, V brought up and planted a kick straight into Tom’s back. In an unsurprising turn of events, Tom grabbed her leg and managed to throw her across the table and onto Judy’s couch.

“V?! You there? Can you hear me?” Judy’s voice was full of worry, but it turned softer after V tilted her head. “Hey, hey. Try not to move, okay? Think your nose is broken.” V brought her hand up to her nose, and jerked it away. Yep. It was broken. Fuck. 

“Hahaha! Look at me go! Ya see that?!” V watched as Judy whipped her head around, which caused Tom to stop his mini celebration of himself. 

Of all the effort she could gather, V tried to speak. " _Hey, Jude. Give me… the strongest thing… you have._ ” Her voice was soft and nasally. "Don’t-Don’t tell me you plan to-" V leaned forward. " _Just- Please?_ ” Judy gave in and handed V a bottle of tequila. After downing half the bottle, V placed her hands in the right position that Pepe taught after stumbling in the El Coyote Cojo too many times with one. Then after doing it wrong one time and going to Vik’s clinic soon after, she was taught the ‘right’ way to do it. ‘Right’ according to Vik anyways. V glanced at the collective worry that was on both Roxanne’s and Judy’s faces. With quick force and a disgustingly, fleshy crack, V writhed over in pain. Thinking that no matter how many times she did it. It would always hurt like the first time. She felt Judy’s hand on her shoulder. “You alright?” V groaned. " _Really… outdid yourself. You-You’d be the richest… Judy in the NUSA."_ She sensed like her head was about to burst open.

V felt Judy slide hand off of her shoulder. “Please. Plenty of killin’ machines in the world. I don’t wanna turn more people into ‘em. After this… the chips are gettin’ micronuked.” Once Judy stopped talking, V tried her best to avert her eyes to Maiko. “ _Yo-You… happy now?_ ” 

“I’m rarely happy. But that was proof enough, and a little satisfying. And who would have guessed that the lowly street thug would be disciplined in the art of Muay Thai?” While V graced Maiko with her middle finger, she took a long drag of her cigarette. “Let's get to it, then. You’ve got an elite force of three muscle heads and a techie.” Judy stood up and faced Maiko. “Guards and Tyger Claws in and around we’ll overpower- take down, disarm, escort ‘em out. Clouds’ll be ours.” She sat down between her and Maiko. “Bosses… we’ll give ‘em an ultimatum- a cut of the proceeds in exchange for never showin’ their faces at the club again. And havin’ no say in how the club’s managed.” Maiko leaned toward Judy. “Hm. That’s what I thought… A half-baked, insane plan. You can’t see more than an inch ahead of you.” V leaned her head back and tuned both of them out for a moment. Only thinking of how much her nose fucking hurt. Now she wanted to throw Tom off of the roof. He lost window privileges.

“-Hiromi Sato’s the man you gotta get to.” V could feel both pairs of eyes drift towards her. “ _Well… would be easier if we could pick ‘em off the street, when he’s… chompin’ on a scopdog or pissin’ in a back alley. Be less… trouble._ ” Maiko, of course, criticized that plan. “We can’t handle this like a bunch of street thugs. Besides he doesn’t leave anywhere without security. Second, this is only a show of force, demonstrating what we’re capable of. Which is a lot more than street thuggery.” Exhausted, V didn’t even attempt to face Maiko. “ _So-so… sorry I-I can’t see things… from your perspective. Can-Can’t fit my he-head that far up my ass._ ” 

“So how ‘bout it? V? Tom? Roxie? Made up your minds?” Roxanne’s voice was shaky. “I… I need to think about it. Never wasted anyone before, y’know?” Tom jumped in. “I’m with it all the way.” V could feel Judy look at her. “V?” 

‘ _Don’t tell me you’re seriously considering this? Stickin’ our precious necks out for a bunch of whores.’_ V tried to look at Johnny. ‘ _Not doin’ it for them. I’m doin’ it for Judy._ ’ Johnny retorted. ‘ _What? So you can get in her pants?_ ’ V took a moment. ‘ _No. Lived in this city all my life, Johnny. And Judy is one of the few people that I feel wouldn’t stab me in the back. Those are hard people to find. ‘Sides. Come this far, gotta make sure things work out._ ’ Making a noise of disgust, Sliverhand vanished. V looked at Judy. " _Yeah… Al-Already said I’d help, didn’t I?_ ” 

"Thanks, V." Maiko stood up. “Save the gratitude for later, please.” The ringing in her ears started to begin. Breathing became more difficult, and V’s brain felt like it was on fire and was about to come out of her ears. " _Ugh…"_ Once her vision was clear enough, V could see that everyone was gone, except Judy. Just her and Judy. "Hooo, shit… I’m scared, V. Speakin’ of gratitude… stuff I’m askin’ you to do, well- usually comes with a price tag, I know. You wanna help- like you do with everybody you come across. But I’m more than happy to pay your fee in full. Feels… like it’s the right thing to do." 

V flipped up her left hand. “ _Absolutely… completely… and totally. Out-Out of… the question. Don’t wanna hear it._ ” 

“But-”

" _Eh-eh-eh! Shush. Not… A word._ ” After her attempt to stand when terribly, V plopped back down onto the couch. “Don’t think you’re in much of a condition to go anywhere. Much less, drive.” V gave in, her voice nearly breathless. " _Fine. I’ll stay. Can I use your shower? Don’t wanna get blood all over your couch. Gotta duffel bag in my car. Has my stuff in it. Can you help me get out there?"_

"Careful! Careful!" Judy was finding it difficult to deal with V, who didn’t have her head on completely straight. “Gonna hurt yourself!” V looked down at her, her violet eyes were darker than usual. “ _I’ll be fine. Worrin’ too much._ ” Her usual low and raspy voice was sultry and breathless. If she wasn’t having to worry about the woman hurting herself further, Judy felt that she could enjoy it in all of it’s splendor. 

She crossed her arms because V was very insistent on carrying her own bag. “Come on, V. Let me help you.” V shook her head. " _I’ve got it. Don’t worry ‘bout it."_

Judy leaned back in her chair and looked at the half a dozen screens in front of her. Hoping that it would help her worries about V go away just a little bit, she sighed. In the back of her mind, she wondered what different types of intense shit the woman put herself through on a daily basis. A shift of weight of the back of her chair pulled her away from her thoughts. “ _Boo._ ” Judy let out a short laugh and looked up toward V. “Feel better?” 

Turning around, she watched V lean against the door frame. V wore a tank top that was too short, it showed off the tattoo on her stomach and the collar was low enough to show most of her collarbone tattoo. The sweatpants that she had on were baggy and she could see the thin straps of what seemed to be a G-string hugging the top of her hips. And thanks to the screens behind her, she spotted small droplets of water on V’s neck and chest. Judy used every fiber of her being to contain herself. She was thankful that it was dark in here, because she could feel like her cheeks and ears started to burn, knowing that she was probably pretty damn flushed. 

“ _Showers don’t fix broken noses, but they’re good at makin’ the blood go away at least._ ” Judy glanced at the small splint going across V’s nose. Overall, she came to one conclusion, one that she's come to before. This woman was too damn attractive for her own good. After a moment of thought, Judy knew that she needed to find something to talk about. Fast. So she could distract herself from what she was seeing. “So… Uh- Gotta question.” Ugh. Why did she have to be so awkward?

“ _Go ahead_.” Judy lightly drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. “What’s Muay Thai? Never heard of it.” V folded her arms. “ _Type of Thai boxing. Known as the ‘art of eight limbs’. S’why Maiko called it what she did. Can explain it better some other time… When my head doesn’t feel like it’s about to split open._ ” She had completely forgotten how tired V probably was. Facing a cyberpsycho, Tom, and god knows what else in a single day. All the while still managing to stand upright and speak. Honestly, it was very impressive. Judy finally figured she’d leave so V would actually go and sleep. Firmly planting her feet to the floor, Judy walked over and stood in front of the door frame. She looked up to V who was at least a few inches taller than her, even without her boots on. “Should go. Let you get some sleep. ‘Night, V.” Judy’s heart skipped a beat as she watched V slowly, but gingerly, bite her bottom lip. Her eyes moved to look at her, but not her head. “ _Night, Judy._ _And… thanks. For everything_.” Judy mentally slapped herself. “You’re welcome.”

After Judy left the room, V glanced at Johnny leaned against the wall across the room. “You ruthless, ruthless, cold-hearted, _devious_ animal.” V narrowed her gaze at him. ' _The hell you talkin’ ‘bout?_ ’ Johnny took his cigarette out of his mouth. “All I gotta say is… that poor girl had so much friction that if you stuck a piece of wood near her lower half you’d get a torch.” Left absolutely clueless, V didn’t try to interpret what Johnny was saying whatsoever. A few moments of silence passed, so she turned the corner and left the room. V gently placed herself on the couch, and her breathing slowed and relaxed. Letting her eyelids fall, she finally let herself relax.

For the first time in the past few weeks, the merc found herself able to sleep in peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again, back again~ It's me. Villain-tina. (Hope you get the reference.) But not I'm not actually though. I could never. Anyways~ Thank you all so, so much for the amount of support you've shown. It's like... actually crazy to me that I've made it this far. Setting that aside, I hope you all enjoyed my absolute dumpster fire once more. See ya soon~ :)


	7. A Few Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all starts off with a meeting with Panam. Later comes a call from Judy, to which V answers. Leading to action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there's any grammatical hiccups, this chapter was a bit of a doozy for me. It challenged me a bit.

The early morning sunlight shone through the window of the apartment, its brightness bore right through V’s eyelids. Sure, it was a pleasant way to wake up, but not to someone like V, who didn’t want to get up at all. The couch seemed to mimic V’s as she turned away, digging her face into the cushion of the couch. Gathering her breath, V gently combed her hands over her face as she attempted to wake herself. 

V glanced at the table slightly off to her left. On it was a hastily scribbled note, along with her jacket that she gave Judy to use the last time that they were together. She grabbed the note, and sunk back into the couch. Her eyes slowly traced the words, to make sure she was actually reading it correctly. 

_ Mornin’ Sleepyhead! _

_ Breakfast for ya on the counter. And here’s your jacket back. Thanks for lettin’ me use it. _

_ -J _

The sandwich was slightly warm and so was the coffee. Somewhat providing a bit of relief, in a way. After finishing her food, V scooped up her returned jacket and put it on. She traced her eyes around the apartement one last time. With her duffle bag over her shoulder, V exited the apartment. Off to face whatever the day would give her again. 

A ragged groan was the only thing that managed to escape. Flat on the ground, V glanced over to the right and looked at the barely-alive cyberpsycho across the junkyard. She looked back up to the endless desert sky. The tight grip that she had on her weapon loosened. “Well… that could’ve gone better.” Once sending Regina the data she needed, V lifted herself off of the warm sand. It provided little relief from the hot sun, but at least it didn’t feel like she was laying on a hot griddle anymore. 

Not long she sat in her car, and started it, V got a message from Rogue. 

_ Got everything ready. Come to Afterlife, let’s talk.  _

V walked up to the woman hunched over into the motor of a car. “Panam?” Her voice was calm, but had its usual raspy tone to accompany it.

“So you’re V?” Panam’s voice was confident and curt. Cocky, too. No, not cocky. Well not completely cocky, but you could certainly tell she was blunt. “Where’s my car?”

Car? Ah, there’s the catch. Always is one. V sighed longingly. The sudden glint of midday sun causing her to shade her eyes. “Rogue said we could help each other….” Her voice trailed off as she witnessed Panam further narrow her eyes with each word. “I might’ve guessed.” That statement being just as curt as the question she started with. With visible impatience written all over her, Panam slammed her hands onto the car. “All right. Tell me all that you know. Don’t leave out any details, understand? Fail, and you can go back to Rogue and say that she can fuck right off.” V slightly brought her head back from Panam’s finger, which was very close to her face. “Yeah, I got it.” Her tone was smooth, unchanging. Which dramatically paralleled Panam’s pissed-to-all-hell one.

Stone-cold body language and an icy stare cloaked V, as it did when she conducted biz. “What’s gonna stop you from just runnin’ off and try to deal with it by yourself… granted I tell you what I know?” Panam shoved her upper body back into the motor of the vehicle. “That is no concern of yours. None.”

An impatient puff of air managed to escape through V’s splinted nostrils. By some miracle. “C’mon. Just… Calm down.” 

“Don’t  _ tell me  _ what to do.” If that was somehow possible, which it seemed to be, Panam’s voice had more fire in it than before. V calmly lifted her hands in gentle surrender, and began to slowly walk away. She took her time, and hoped that this would work. 

“Fine…  _ fine _ . Know where to find your cargo and your car. But you go alone…” V turned around to face an unmoving Panam. “You won’t get ‘em back. And could end up losing more on the way. So… let’s try to work something out, hm?.”

Panam’s hands started to move again and she huffed. A huff of defeat. How lucky. “What do you want?” 

Checkmate. Or so she thought. V felt a small smile forming at the corner of her lips. “Gotta a guy. Guy I need to talk to. A corpo travelin’ by corp convoy.”

Panam completely denied the statement. Doesn’t do abductions. She should’ve figured convincing someone of the likes of Panam wouldn’t be a small task. V folded her arms, her impatience growing. “Just a single AV. Planned route’ll take it over Jackson Plains.” The gearhead mumbled curses to herself, while V continued. “In return, info on your cargo, help in gettin’ back what’s yours, deal?”

The hood of the car came down with a slam. “So… where is it?” In a sing-song tone, V responded. “In Rocky Ridge.” Unfolding her arms, V brought back narrowed her eyes and brought her voice back to its original tone. “C’mon let’s go. People to talk to, places to see.” Panam threw up her right arm from its folded position. “Wait… I-I should think this through.” She brought her hand to her face. Burying herself in it. “Fuck. Yep. We’re gonna need backup. We have one brief stop to make on the way.” Back-tracking her footing, V leaned against the hood of the car. “Care to say where we’re stoppin’?” 

While Panam was on the phone, V had to deal with Johnny. He leaned against the side of the car, propping up his leg, and lighting a cigarette. “Going ahead with the deal behind Rogue’s back, huh? You’re either dumb as a fuckin’ drum or you’re braver than I thought.” 

Hanging up the phone, Panam resumed her place against the hood. “Ok. I have bought us some time.” V shifted the rocks under her boot. “So- where we off to?”

“The Aldecaldo camp. I need to see some of the old clan.” With a heavy sigh, V looked up at Panam. “Don’t seem too excited about that.” The woman’s brow furrowed. Which was practically second nature to it most likely. “That’s not your concern.” The defensive state of Panam relaxed. “I still have friends there.” V started to walk to the passenger door of the clunker, “Alright, let’s roll.” The old thing struggled to start. With a simple turn of her neck, V noticed a booster seat in the back of the car. Definitely signifying that this ancient piece of shit didn’t belong to Panam. 

V carelessly watched the city pass by through the window. Not yet realizing the shit she’s catapulted herself into.

Here it was. The shitstorm at its current peak. The crates that V hunkered herself behind are one of the few places left to avoid gunfire in the cave, after Panam jumped out of her truck and started shooting up the place. Not long ago, the fire fight became an everyone-save-yourself-fest once Panam found cried ‘Eureka!’ which turned out to be a  _ crate full of grenades _ . V found herself to be quite happy to not be on the receiving end of Panam’s wrath, because from the looks of it, she was on the full-blown warpath until Nash was dead. 

V quickly eyeballed the small metal object that landed to the ground adjacent to her. A breathless, audible ‘Oh shit’ escaped her lips before breaking into a full-blown sprint across the cave, nearly eating an entire mouthful of sand as she threw herself into the ground. Now behind something that looked sturdy enough to be cover from Panam’s raging hellfire. She silently prayed to whatever higher power that might accept her that it would be enough. 

Turning her head in the direction of a  _ very, very pissed  _ Panam, who was still going strong, V shortly questioned why she was even there. Because clearly, a certain someone looked like they didn’t need help. V looked down at her phone that had started to chime. It was Judy. “Shit. PANAM!” The shout was fiercely met with the same tone. “WHAT?!” 

“Cover me for a couple minutes, would ya?!"

“Are you fucking  _ kidding me _ ?! What?! Have a phone call or something?!” 

“Yep!” Answering the call, V watched Panam propel herself into a further blood rage. Throwing enough curses to make a sailor blush. V only two concerns at this point. One, if she was going to make it out of this cave alive, and two,if she did, if Panam would decide to kill her later. It was a losers game, really. What wasn’t at this point?

“Hey Jude, how’s things?” V glanced over at the frenzied woman across the cave, while Judy responded. “They’re good. How ‘bout you?” Right as she was about to answer Panam started shouting. “Fuck you, Nash! You piece of shit! I am going to  _ kill  _ you, you back-stabbing bastard!” She closed her statement by chucking a cluster of grenades in Nash’s direction. If him and his goonies weren’t giving them as much trouble as they were, V would almost feel sorry for him. Except, he probably should've been smart enough not to cross someone like Panam anyways. So any sympathy she would’ve felt is long gone. V shyly answered, knowing that Judy probably heard all of what just happened. “Oh… y’know… same ol’, same ol’.” Judy looked a bit surprised. “You alright?”

Her brow perked up. “Oh, yeah. Yeah. I-I’m fine. But-uh…” Silently, V told herself to get it together. Why the hell was she so nervous anyways? It’s just a phone call, at least that’s what she could tell herself. “My friend Panam’s not alright. She-uh- She’s currently on the warpath. Guess conflict ‘tween a former partner’ll do that. ‘Fact that the cave we’re in hasn’t collapsed is…  _ surprising _ ?” A small laugh escaped from Judy. “Well, need you to get out of there in one piece. We’re meetin’ in front of the Mega Tower this afternoon. Won’t keep ya, just be careful, okay?” 

“You got it, see ya then.” The mercenary grabbed her pistol, joining the fray. She got over just in time to witness Panam straight up execute her former partner. It was clear from the start that she wasn’t messing around, but that was the last nail in the coffin, literally in Nash’s case. Panam’s head shot up. “Took you long enough.” Her voice loudly echoed through the cave. “A phone call during a firefight? Really?” V flinched as Panam walked closer. The internal struggle to find the words to parry that blunt, ferocious tone was on. “Would’ve passed it over to my secretary, but sadly… don’t got one.” The doors slammed as both of them got into Panam’s truck. “Then let me be the first to say, you need one.” V smiled, refraining herself from laughing at the thought. “Don’t think that’s a good idea.” Panam sighed, but she had a smile that made her a little less scary in the moment. Considering how pissed she was five minutes ago, it was a dramatic improvement to V. “Thanks for helping me get my car back and helping me deal with Nash. I really appreciate it, V. I mean it.”

The merc leaned back into her seat, smiling as they finally reached the end of the cavern. “Anytime, Panam.”

The Mega Tower was unsurprisingly busting with dozens of people. Judy kept her eyes open for a certain brooding merc to make her way through the crowd. Because V… Isn’t a person who can be easily missed if you know her. Eventually, there she was. Good-looking as ever. “Hey, V!” The woman’s violet eyes met hers, a low-grade burn started to sear her cheeks. “You ready?” 

“Suppose so.” V’s voice was it’s usual low, raspy tone. She didn’t seem as tired as she usually was, which was some relief. “Any idea how’m supposed to reach Hiromi?” 

“Pulled the blueprint, got it all figured out. ‘K, not all, but… we’re good on the penthouse.” Judy leaned away from the concrete barrier. “Best bet’s to access it from the service level. Got a way in from there.” 

“Okay, sounds good. S’go.” The elevator ride was kind of quiet. Once arriving at the floor that her and V had to get off of, Judy placed her arm in front of V. Who walked into it, making her able to feel how firm the woman’s body was. Quickly placing her arm back at her side, Judy crouched down which made the merc do the same. “Gangoons ahead. Gotta jack into that panel on the other side.” She pointed out the panel. “Can you take ‘em out? Quietly?” V nodded her head. The mercenary’s movements were swift and quiet, not only that, but elegant in a way. 

V observed Judy as she started to tinker with the panel. “Everyone in position?” The other woman continued working on the panel, her unmoving. “Tom and Roxie should already be at Clouds. We go on Maiko’s signal. They’ll mop security, you’ll deal with Hiromi. ‘Fore that, you gotta get into the penthouse. Can use that elevator over there, take it to the roof.” 

“Right, on my way.” A hand on her shoulder stopped her from marching off. “Be safe.” Judy’s gaze was soft, warm.

The elevator ride was a bit noisy. Only because of Judy talking to the others. V didn’t really mind the idle chat though. Was a bit strange to not have an awkward, quiet elevator ride for once. Sneaking through the penthouse was easier that V had anticipated. There were only three or four guards in here. Which is a miniscule amount in comparison to what she has to usually deal with. But those larger numbers usually come with crawling through large, shitty warehouses for whatever reason the client asks for. 

“Took you long enough.” She glanced up to the snarky voice. Maiko was staring out the windows of the penthouse, out toward the city. “Was beginning to think you couldn’t make it.”

The patience of V started to run out, slowly, but surely. Johnny appeared into the room. “Right or wrong- chicks’ll give you shit no matter what you do. This one’s a real charmer, too” Right, cause she would like to see that bitch charm her way out of an express ticket from the roof to the ground. She looked at Maiko. “Can we just fucking get this over with?” V listened to Judy over the holo. “Why’re there three guys? What’s she playing at?” Maiko turned away from the window, and pointed to the man sitting in front of her. Defenseless, locked in a braindance. “That’s our target, Hiromi Sato.” V looked to the other two men on the adjacent couch. “Who the fuck are those two?” 

“Target audience of today’s presentation. Hiromi answers to them directly.” The silence was completely deafening as Maiko took a drag of her cigarette. “Now… Well, now they’re going to watch him die in a pool of his own piss.” Now, V felt completely irritated at Maiko, knowing that something was up. “Ain’t what we agreed.” Johnny flickered and leaned against the table behind Maiko. “Look at me. See this shit? See the look Un-fucking-suprised on my face. Knew this shit was gonna happen.” 

Maiko continued her blabberings. At this point V was uninterested and just waited until the bitch stopped talking. “You fuckin’ serious with this shit?” That statement didn’t make Maiko so much as falter, she still continued on. “I’m about to jack ‘em out. They will not be chirpy after their rude awakening. One show ends, another begins. Just good and unforgettable, understand?” V waved her hand, signaling to get it over with. 

V watched as Maiko started to make her demonstartino, completely betraying Judy in the process. At that very moment, V knew what Maiko wanted. She wanted Clouds for herself. This was it, her patience had finally run out. What snapped her out of it was Judy’s voice. “V? What the fuck is she doin’?!” 

“Think you’re gettin’ carried away, Maiko…” 

“I see not all has been agreed.” It was one of the Tyger Claw bosses. V pulled out her pistol and pointed it at him. “Y’know what? Let’s just get this shit over with!” All it took was three bullets. One for each man. Her adrenaline started to drop. “-were you thinking? Have you any idea what’s gonna happen now?” A forceful breath left V, her head tilting toward Maiko. “What?” Her tone is more curt than before. “Revenge. You’ve turned Cloud into a ticking time bomb!” 

“I don’t give a fat _fuck!_ _You_ tried to cheat us all. Just glad you got to see your shit attempt blow up in your goddamn face! You made it out like you wanted to help, but all you wanted was Hiromi’s place!” Maiko shook her head. “No, you see, my plan hasn’t failed yet. I still can. Because your dead body is the only thing standing in the way of its success. Their corpses won’t be able to stop me, and _neither_ will yours.” Maiko pulled out a blade, and out of pure instinct alone, V disarmed her in one swift motion. In a vindictive act of anger, V brought down a heavy axe kick. It forcefully brought Maiko to the ground, and the woman writhed in pain on the floor. V’s gun was now pointed at the woman’s temple. The fourth bullet went off. Now all was quiet. 

“V?! You alright?! Listen, get outta there. Exit’s on the lower level.” 

The elevator ride was quiet this time. Unsettling. As it usually always was.

“You… Y-You killed her?!” Judy placed her face into her hand, all the while, V’s heart started to swell with guilt. She looked up to the sky, and let the raindrops try to cool her face. “O-oh my fucking god… You killed her.” Try as she might, the merc couldn’t pull herself away from the guilt that she felt. “I… I… I-I’m sorry. I didn’t… I-I didn’t mean for- I hadn’t…” Not only guilt, but embarrassment started to eat at her. She felt like a complete idiot. Hell, she couldn’t even form a single sentence. Thank fuck Johnny wasn’t here to mock her for it, or tell her she needs to toughen up. 

Judy had never seen someone the likes of V be this distraught. She slid her hands onto V’s shoulders. “Hey… calm down, okay? I know.” The merc looked up, her eyes filled with pain. “Just wanted…” V’s voice was quiet and soft. “To do right by you, Judy. Shouldn’t’ve done what I did. I-I just… feel like a gonk.” A gentle smile formed on Judy’s face. “Then we’re both a pair of gonks…” A slight bit of relief swept across V’s face. “I should’ve seen this comin’. Maiko probably planned this the sec we walked in her office. ‘Sides, we did what we set out to do, right?” The techie softly pressed her finger into V’s chest. “You… You made it happen.” Judy’s left hand cupped V’s cheek, while she tenderly kissed the other one. “Thank you.” She stepped back from the merc. “Gotta go process all this… See you later, V.” 

“See you around, Judy.”

Deep inside, she didn’t want her to go. So that’s why it's painful to watch her walk away. Almost seemingly in line with her feelings, the rain began to pick up. V began to walk herself, to where, well, at that moment she didn’t have a place in mind for once. After walking for what seemed like a while, the merc threw herself up against a wall. Out of all the neon lights in Night City, the only color she found herself under was red. How ironic. Slightly fumbling, V pulled Evelyn’s cigarette case out of her jacket. She didn’t think she’d end up giving in, but at this moment, the level of guilt she still had made her not give a damn. There was only one thing, a small thing, that pulled her away from the trance that she was in. 

“Ain’t nice to take peoples’ photos without their permission.” A figure out of the corner of her eye flinched, knowing that they’d been had. “I-I’m sorry. Do you want me to delete it?” V waved her hand at the voice. “Don’t much care about the picture, only the reason why you took it. So why?” The figure stepped out of the darkness, it was a young girl. Nineteen, at most. Taking a more observant approach, V noticed that the girl was nervous. “I’m Ivy, and I’m interning under Max Jones. I-I studied photography, so he’s having me do a project about the ‘NightLife of Night City’. Photos of mercs, joy toys, and the like. Yo-You were just standing there, perfectly. I couldn’t help myself. I-I'm really sorry.” Internally, V had her doubts, but the girl seemed genuine. “Hm. That it?” The girl nervously nodded her head, seeming to become more shy. ”Can I… Can I ask you some questions? Wh-What’s your name?”

“I’m V.” The merc took a long drag of her cigarette. 

“What’re you doing out here in the rain, V?” Seemed like a personal question, rather than a journalistic one like she expected, but V obliged.

“Tryin’ to wash away the guilt, anger, fear, and whatever else’ll go too.” She blew out smoke. “I can feel that this damn city’s tryin’ to swallow me whole…” After a few short bits back and forth about the city, and what little information V could give about being a merc, came the last question.

“Do you… Do you sometimes wish that things were different for you, or for others?” That question struck deep, deeper than expected. Sure, there were many things that she wished were different. Things she couldn’t talk about, cause a lot if it really didn’t make any fuckin’ sense. V leaned her head back against the wall, hoping that it could help her make up her scrambled mind. A heavy sigh left her as she’d finally decided her answer.

“If they were different… Who's to say that things would be better? Different consequences could come up ‘stead, worse ones than the ones before. ‘Sides, why wish for something that couldn’t come to pass? So… No, I don’t.” After, both of them said their goodbyes. V silently wondered what that girl was gonna do with the conversation. Glancing down at the card handed to her earlier, she decided that she’d see eventually. V looked up to the sky, the rain finally stopping. 

Once more, the merc found herself alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, kiddies! We are close to the endgame! This took me a bit, as I said before, I was having a bit of trouble writing this chapter, so I hoped it turned out okay. I just want to say, thank you so much for making this series hit 5000 hits. Never thought that was gonna happen, not gonna lie. But hey, I'm very happy, so thank you so, so much from the bottom of my heart. Anyways, I'll be back within the week or in a week with the final chapter. I'm most likely going to do a couple of one-shots afterward, so stay tuned. Anywhosers, thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> P.S. Writing Panam's character is kinda fun. Not gonna lie.
> 
> P.S.S. The last chapter's gonna pretty long. SO I'm about to have a b l a s t.


	8. Only With You Can This Song Be Ours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First, we start off in the Badlands, and eventually we get to the last quest of Judy's quest line, Pyramid Song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DING DONG, BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I've never written smut, and so this would be my first time. So if it ain't up to standard, please don't drag me. I tried. Really. Also, this chapter is really long. Read at your own peril. Like seriously, this chapter's nearly 8,000 words, guys. Finally, the punctuation around italicized words is being dumpy again. So apologies for that, just ignore it when ya see it.

_Click_ . _Click, click, click._ Nothing. At this very moment… nothing was bad. Very, _very_ bad. “Uh… P-Panam? It-It’s not working?!” A magnetic tension filled the air as the EMP went off -delayed- but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to down the AV as planned. Only the mumbling of various curses could be heard out of V’s left ear. The driver door slammed, and spotting the launcher over Panam’s shoulder, V knew the improv had started. Johnny -unsurprisingly- approved of Panam’s methods, stating that it was ‘fuckin’ great’ and that V should take notes. For the next few moments, the only thing that V could hear was Panam trying to stop Mitch and Scorpion from investigating the AV, while furiously driving down the cliffside at the same time. Meanwhile the pea-brained idiot in the passenger seat, thought about how Judy was doing, and silently hoped that the EMP she just set off didn’t bother her too much. Johnny finally broke her from the trance, calling her something along the lines of a ‘smitten idiot’ and reminding her to focus. Luckily, a quick reprisal and succession of the word ‘okay’ stopped his bitching.

_-Ten minutes earlier at Lizzie’s Bar._

A looming something -or someone- was at the door. Fortunately, the door was locked, keeping whoever wanted in, out.Her mind reeled over the message that Roxanne sent her. The devastation of Clouds. The only thing to be grateful for was that Roxanne was still alive. The rest? Mentally beating herself up, Judy told herself over and over that things weren’t supposed to go down like this. 

So at this very moment, Judy didn’t feel like being bothered. Especially by the other Moxes who probably just wanted to gossip. The topic most likely being about V, because word always gets around in the Moxes, in a number of different ways. “Hey Judy!” The conniving voice behind the door was all too familiar. “Can ya open the door?” The techie turned her head, narrowing her eyes at the voice behind the door. She now knew exactly who it was. “Tryin’ to work here, Rita. _Go_ .” The last word was drug out, probably from the combination of irritation, frustration, and exhaustion. Whispering started to come from the other side of the door, and came to a stop after a moment. “Aw, come on! You been _workin_ ’ for hours!” 

“Don’t _you_ got work to do?” Her voice increasingly became more irritated with every word. “We are doin’ our job!” It wasn’t Rita this time, but the other bodyguard. “Tellin’ you that your merc _friend_ is up at the bar. Completely shitfaced. Looks miserable…” Judy marched up to the door and unlocked it. “Ok let’s-” The two bodyguards walked right past her. Solidifying in that very moment… This was a trap. In her moment of mental fury, Judy scolded herself for falling for it. Though, the techie figured that she probably wouldn’t have if she wasn’t nine hours into her shift. Rita propped herself against the edge of Judy’s work desk. Meanwhile, the other bodyguard stood closer to the door.

Knowing where this was possibly going, Judy silently glared while Rita typed away on the computer. “So, you two a thing?” Tilting her head in distrust, Judy placed herself on the defense. “What?” Shifting her footing as an uncomfortable air began to fill the room. “You and that merc. One that helped you with your Clouds business.” Shaking her head, the techie crossed her arms. “No, we ain’t. Now… the hell you doin’ on my computer?” Try as she might, the techie desperately wanted Rita to drop the subject. Rita’s face had a grin on it that was more conniving than her tone. “Should give’er a chance. Seen the way… Here we go!” Rita leaped out of her seat and placed her hand on Judy’s shoulder. “Catch ya later, Judy. Gotta bounce ‘fore Suze finds out we’re down here. Don’t wanna get my ass kicked.” Both of the bodyguards hurried out of the room, leaving Judy by her lonesome again. 

Fixated. It was a good word to describe how Judy was to the screen of her computer. Not in the usual way for when she's working. No. This… was something else entirely, call it artistic appreciation maybe. Grabbing on to the feeling, rather than dwelling on it, she leaned in slightly. 

A woman basking in red light propped against a concrete wall, one foot flat of the ground and the other looked gently placed against the bottom of the wall. A cigarette loosely hung from between her lips. The smoke from the cigarette spiraling into the air, it danced in the neon glow as if having its own symphony playing for it. It was only misting, but her hair was a soaked mess. The two pairs of small, black hoops gently reflected the harsh neon light, one pair at the top of the ear and the other at the top of her earlobe. Her clothes were the same way as her hair, which made the light-gray tank top she had on tightly cling to her body. After having a euphoric first glance, Judy leaned back and observed the photo in full. With a furrow of her brow, the feeling of familiarity began to settle in. The techie’s chest filling up with a slight burn, her face caught up soon after. In that instant she realized… that it was V. 

She slammed her head into the back of her chair in frustration, closing her eyes, the photo branded into her mind. And the relaxed, but pained expression on the merc’s face had also seared itself into her consciousness too. Judy sighed. Figuring her head that she should have one last ‘hurrah’ before leaving the city, and part of her wanted V to be there. To make it up to herself and to… 

V.

The most gonk merc in all of Night City. At least to her, she was. But she was a merc with a heart, someone who’s empathetic and caring, qualities that didn’t seem to exist in most people in Night City. Much less someone who calls themselves a merc. Despite all, V had become someone that she can trust, someone she could genuinely count on to be there… no matter what. And in this fucking city that was worth more than any sum of eddies.

Before the techie could get too lost in her thoughts, the power suddenly went out. Leaving Judy in total darkness, with the screams coming from upstairs and her own cursing, because _nine fucking hours_ of work just got erased. 

Maybe it was the stillness, the stale smell of alcohol and vomit in the air, or just being in the dark… She had a feeling V had something to do with this. 

_-In the middle of the Badlands_.

V started out in the expansless sands of the Badlands. It had been two weeks since her and Panam had dealt with the Kang Tao AV, now the both of them were off causing chaos again. As always. V was just enjoying the fact that she didn’t have to do it alone for once. Especially when it comes to _stealing a tank_ from Militech. 

Crossing her arms, the merc looked around at the various Militech corpses in the vicinity. Off in the distance, Mitch and Carol were messing with the cargo truck that the “Basilisk” was on. Something about, “making sure they can’t trace us back to camp.” She felt a hand touch her shoulder. “Everything should be ready to move in a few minutes. Be ready.” V turned her head to the right. “Hey, Panam. ‘Fore you go…” The other woman stopped in her tracks and turned around. “Mind if I say somethin’?” 

“Sure.” V unfolded her arms and put them at her sides. “Not gonna lie to you. I don’t fuckin’ like this. Something’s off. Dunno what...” A swirling dust cloud appeared on the horizon, and the merc squirted her eyes as Panam answered. “Relax, V. I have it all planned out. They will not send reinforcements all the way out here. Besides, Mitch and Carol nearly have things wrapped up, so we are about to leave anyway.” The sinking feeling in V’s throat inched further down as she looked at the cloud in the distance, now slightly larger in size. 

“ _Panam_ .” V’s voice was low and shaky. “Mind handin’ me that scope? _Would ya_?” Her last words came out with a slight crack. The merc lifted the scope up to her eye. What she saw only made her words come out a whisper.

 _“Figlio di troia…”_ There it was, right in front. The blonde power-mullet of doom. Leading the charge right in this direction. The feeling in V’s throat dropped to the ground, along with the scope. V let out a guttural scream that even she didn’t know she was capable of, as her mind traced back to the night that she was the unwilling subject to one Meredith Stout. Even though she’s had the unfortunate circumstance of being tortured before that night, the second time was more demeaning and involved leather. At least it wasn’t as painful, but it certainly was more embarrassing. 

The woman whipped around, bolting toward Panam’s truck. She looked over at the truck carrying the Basilisk. “MITCH! CAROL! WRAP THIS SHIT UP! WE GOTTA GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!” 

The truck door closed with a slam. Johnny flickered into existence in the back seat. “Who the hell d’you piss of this time?” V turned to face his direction. “I didn’t piss off anyone this time!” She peeked out of the window and looked at the dust cloud that was still growing in size, then looking back at Johnny. “And that’s the problem!” 

Another slam shook the truck as Panam slid into the driver's seat. “Care to explain why a Militech convoy is after us, V?!” A sarcastic “ _Yeah, V._ ” came from the backseat that made the merc scowl. Roaring of the engine provided some relief, as distance was now kept stable from the convoy. “Well… _let’s just say that I’m confident that they’re not here for the Basilisk_.” Panam’s head jerked back, out of anger or surprise. Maybe it was even both. “Then what are they after?!”

“Me.”

“You?! Who did you piss off?!”

Gritting her teeth, the merc threw up her hands. “I didn’t piss anyone off! That’s the issue! Okay… _Okay, okay, okay_ . Listen! I thought that Militech had ‘terminated’ the crazy bitch leadin’ the charge! Guess I was wrong! Thing is… she’s got it out for me. _Sexually_ .” Chuckling could be heard from the backseat. “Oh! This is fuckin’ rich! Finally somethin’ interesting! Where the hell’s the popcorn?” V contorted her face in pure irritation. _‘Suck a dick, Johnny!_ ’ The rockerboy still continued his laughing and mocking of the situation. “Oh, come on V! Tell Panam to pull over for me, so I can see you two _work things out_ amongst yourselves!” Johnny continued to giggle like a teenage boy at V’s unfortunate circumstance. The merc turned as she heard the audible tightening of Panam’s grip on her steering wheel. “We cannot lead her to the camp. Alright...” She glanced over at V and then back to the road, with a grin on her face. “I will help, but you get to tell me the story of how you got yourself into that mess later.” V rolled her eyes. “Fine. Only if-” Her phone started to ring and she looked at it. It was Judy. At the most inconvenient time possible. Again.

“Oh, shit!”

_-A few moments earlier._

Softly exhaling, Judy pushed herself away from her work desk. Hours had passed since she started working, so she started shambling toward her kitchen. A quick grab here and there, and she was set. She sat down with a NiCola and some leftovers from some Chinese place, besides something was better than nothing… At least that's what she thought. 

Little time passed by, and while the food was gone, gulit started to take hunger's previous place. The techie longingly stared out of the sunny window. Slowly sprawling her arm across the counter, Judy stared at the screen and her finger hovered over V’s contact. Her holo was offline. After the moment of deliberation of whether she should push it, she pressed it. Figuring that if the merc didn’t answer, she could leave a voicemail.

The first thing that could be heard was screaming and lots of gibberish. 

“ _Heyyy_ , Judy! How’s it goin’?”

The techie’s initial expression of concern shifted to a warm smile at the sound of V’s voice.

“Ah, same ol’, same ol’. How ‘bout you? You alright? Pretty sure I heard screaming.” An uncomfortable laugh came from V’s end. “ _Hah._ Well- um… Y’know _gotta say_ , everything is _absolutely_ _preem_. Actually… was just thinkin’ about you.” Something was up, Judy could feel it. Though she decided to play along.

“Hm, really? So, do I got amazin’ timin’, or are you always thinkin’ about me?”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. Y’know, could be cursin’ you in my thoughts instead.” The techie retorted. “Hey, _hey_ … I’m just glad you remembered me at all.”

“How could I forget?” V said it with a lower tone than she had been previously speaking in. Which made Judy grab at the counter as the burning in her cheeks and chest came in without a warrant. The mood seemed to shift as an audible noise of disgust could be heard. It didn’t come from her, nor V. “May I remind you of the situation that we are in, V?” Gunfire broke out for a few seconds. 

“Here, Panam! Take this! I’m gettin’ on the roof.” Shuffling could be heard. Heavy shuffling at that. “I’m ‘bout to teach this bitch to leave me the hell alone!” Judy could hear V’s phone being passed off to Panam. “Name’s Panam. You?” Without hesitation, the techie answered. “Judy.”

“So, how do you know V? You two a thing or something?” Judy felt a little dumbfounded, the heat coming back to her face. Still without a warrant. Somehow, organizing an answer came to her with more difficulty than she expected. “N-No. Sh-She helped me out a few times. You?” Panam quickly responded. “Ditto.”

The conversation dead-ended thanks to Panam’s bluntness. But thanks to her own either. Judy slid down into her chair slightly at the awkward turn the conversation had taken. Both of the women went to say something, but that happened to be stopped by V shouting in the background. 

“Fuck you, Meredith! _You’re a piece of shit with a dominatrix complex_ , ya middle-aged cunt! Take a hint and LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!” There was a short pause, followed by the succession of gunshots. “Fuck _me_?! The only thing you’re fucking is STUPID!” The awkward air quickly dissipated as Panam snorted. The techie briefly joined in on the other woman’s short burst of laughter. 

“V sounds pretty mad. Think those two’ll work things out?” Panam sighed. “Maybe, maybe not. Though I have to say, it’s interesting nonetheless. Even though we are getting shot at.” Shifting could be heard on the other side. “Bought some time. Can I _have that_ back?” V’s voice slightly cracked.

“Hey, _Jude_. You still there?” The merc’s voice was hoarse, breathless with a bit of emphasis on her shortened name. Honestly, if she wasn’t so concerned for the well-being of V she would have melted into her chair. “Still here. You gonna be alright?”

The air hung tense for a moment, while V softly sighed. So softly that it would be easy to miss. “Ah, yeah. I’ll be fine, just a problem that can wait. So whatcha got for me?” The techie didn’t try to stop her lips from creeping up into a smile. “Got a favor. You’re on a need-to-know basis. This particular mission… don’t need a gun. Just a wetsuit.” 

“O-Okay. I’m in. Gotta warn you though - I look great in a wetsuit.” Judy felt that her smile couldn’t get any wider. “Believe it when I see it… Know that dam out past Rancho Coronado?”

“Sure. What about it?”

Judy could feel her bravado slightly slipping. “Little, uh, abandoned bungalow lakeside. Meet me there - at sundown. ‘Bout three days from now.” There was a momentary pause. V coughed. “Uh - Ok, umm… I-Is this a date?” V sounded completely bashful. An inner desire to the woman’s face began to seep in. Part of Judy was thankful that she wasn’t in front of a mirror because she felt sure that her expression looked stupid. “Guess you’ll have to find out. We’ll have to. See ya, V.” She hung up. For the first time in what felt like forever, Judy felt true joy with a bit of hope too.

_-Late evening, two days later._

Pulling herself through the door, V shambled into her apartment, flopping onto her bed face first. A presence loomed around the room and impatience blossomed. “Got something to say? Or ya just gonna stare?” Her face buried into the sheets, voice muffled. 

“I _mean_ you do have a nice ass. Can see why that girl of yours stares at you the way she does.” A muffle groan of disgust escaped the merc. “Oh, _har-har_. Know you got somethin’ to say. Say it.” Turning her head, V glanced over at Johnny sitting on her couch. Leg crossed, cigarette in hand, but his signature grin was absent. He looked relaxed, or tired. Who knows? The merc turned her head back, assuming her original position.

“Got that thing tomorrow. Get some sleep. Oh, and try not to show up smelling or looking like you’ve just crawled out of a fuckin’ landfill.” 

“You my dating coach or something?” The merc turned her head again, slowly. “Since when do you care so much about my relationship with Judy anyways?” Dozing off, her words came out slow.

Johnny flicked the ashes of his digitized cigarette. “Everybody deserves to have something nice. Whether it be something or someone. Because...” There was a long pause, as if the rockerboy were lost in thought. While, the soft snore of the merc echoed through the apartment. A shadow of Johnny’s usual grin briefly appeared, joined by a sigh.

“We can all love something, but there are little who can say how much we do. Don’t waste your chance, V.” With a flicker, Johnny disappeared and all was now quiet.

_-The next day, midday._

V slid down the side of her car. Looking around, she came to a realization. No traffic, no ads, and no people. Silence. There was nothing but the sand and wind. Maybe this is why Nomads avoid the city like the plague. 

Staring at the emptiness, V huffed. In the back of her mind, she was slightly concerned by how out of the way this place was. Was Judy trying to kidnap her or something? She didn’t want to try and piece that puzzle together in her head. V drummed her fingers along the thick book gingerly held between her hands, years had passed since she held it. In Night City, or hell, even other parts of the world, it was hard to find a physical copy of a book from before the Collapse.

The merc delicately thumbed through the pages and began reading where she left off.

‘ _I did not die, and yet I lost life’s breath:_

_Imagine for yourself what I became,_

_Deprived at once of both my life and death.’_

“Hm. Think I can imagine.”

_-A few hours later._

Driving slowly down the dirt road, Judy observed that V had already arrived. The car that she was leaning against was different this time. It was still a Quadra, but it was a different model. As Judy got out of her van, she looked at the back and saw the words ‘Turbo-R V-Tech’ on the back. Part of her wondered how the woman managed to get it, she may not completely know her cars, but Judy knew that a ‘58 Turbo-R is damn hard to come by. 

While walking over to the bungalow the techie looked over at V who was passed out. With a book in her lap. If V hadn’t’ve told her, she would never have guessed that one of the most dangerous and elite mercs of all of Night City was a bookworm. Bending down, Judy tried to get a glance at the book, not many people read physical copies because not a lot of them exist. 

She took a quick onceover of the outfit V had on. It was a pair of solid black sneakers, reddish-orange pants that had the words “Burn Corpo Shit’ on them, she had a black knotted tank that would show off most of her upper body tattoos. If only she didn’t have that black motorcycle jacket on. Messy and damp would be the words to describe how her hair was. Though part of it was held back by a sandy-golden headband. V’s hair was longer now, it wasn’t straight but wavy. Borderline curly. If it were a bit longer. She tried not to stare too long, after all, it would be incredibly awkward if V would’ve woken up while she was staring. So, Judy quickly walked off before something like that could even come to pass. 

Once her gear was set up, Judy sat down on the hood of the nearby Thorton sedan that looked rusted to hell and back. Time now seemed to move in a strange way, or rather, the air felt strange. Maybe it was being back at Laguna Bend after all this time? Bit by bit, the techie felt her weariness of the feeling subside as she began to hum. The melody is all too familiar to her ears. 

Shuffling and footsteps. Judy turned around as the footsteps got louder. “Welcome back to the land of the ‘wake, V. Lookin’ good.” The merc sounded a low, grumbly hum at the welcome. Judy slightly shifted her body as V joined her on the hood of the car. 

“Thanks.” She watched while V sniffed and rubbed her face. Obviously, the poor woman was having a hard time waking up. And it was the cutest thing Judy had seen all week. “But you really think that after all the shit we’ve been through though?”

“Throw that in and you look fuckin’ amazin’.” That earned her an eyeroll and a huff from V. “So you gonna finally tell me what we’re doin’ out here?” 

Judy smiled. “Been tinkerin’ with virtus a lot lately and figured out a way to scroll two actors’ experiences at the same time. Though… We could try it out. If you’re down, of course.” 

“Sounds like we-” The merc yawned, continuing as she stretched. “Could do this anywhere. Why out here? What’s even out here?” 

Her eyes met the water, and Judy admired it for a brief moment. Reminiscing about what lies at the bottom as she spoke. “Cottage belonged to someone I knew. S’empty now. I take the liberty to use it from time to time.” To her surprise V had a look of confusion on her face. “So… tha-that’s where we’re gonna scroll?” The techie thought about how much of a gonk V was as she got a quick look down at her wetsuit. She hopped off the hood of the car and walked a few steps in the direction of the dock. “Nope, we’re scrollin’ underwater.” 

Judy turned around to see V looking off. A thousand yard stare. She’s seen her do it a couple times before. Right now the glaze of lifelessness over her eyes made it blatant to see. “Whaddya say? You in?” Life seeped back into V’s violet eyes. “Hell yeah! I’m in!”

Such an enthusiastic answer. It wasn’t what she expected to be honest. Though, Judy took it as soon as it was offered. “Awesome! So, uh… let’s go! Already got most of my gear set up.” Typing away at her laptop, she looked over her shoulder to V. “Got some things to set up. While I’m doin’ that… Get that booty o’ yours suited up.” When she pointed to the suit in the box, Judy noticed that V’s freckled cheeks were slightly pink. 

Temptation took over after the techie turned back around. Especially when she heard V throw her jacket onto the lounge chair. Inconspicuously as she could, she turned her head around, V’s toned and tattooed back facing her. On her back was a huge, vibrantly colored tattoo of a woman with a skeletal face holding a flesh mask, surrounded by a few roses, with the word beauty down near her lower back. The statement ‘beauty is a mask’ into artistic imagery. 

Squinting her eyes, she could see scars running down V’s back in a uniform order. Some were deeper than others. What’s strange is that they were mostly the same size, even though there were dozens of them. Judy knew where those scars came from, and if it were up to her, she’d hunt those guys and make them have twice the scars. 

She trailed her eyes up closer to V’s neck. At nearly the top of her shoulders, was a written phrase. Time has gotten to it, making it obvious that V’s had it for a long time. The lettering in a completely different style than her other tattoos. It was in black ink, making it an anomaly among the other ink V had. Judy focused her eyes. 

_‘Cercare l’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle._ ’ The language… 

“Enjoying the view over there?” She’d been had, which made the techie whip back around to her laptop screen. But a part of Judy couldn’t help but smile and smack the butterflies in her stomach away with a broom, or try to. “Can’t help it. Can’t have that many tattoos and not expect people to stare.”

“Any that stick out in particular?” Unsurprisingly, she already had an answer. “One at the top of your shoulders. S’in a different style, ink, and language. Italian, right?” She turned to V who was now leaning against the railing of the dock. Now in a wetsuit too, Judy realized that V wasn’t kidding, she looked _really good_ in a wetsuit. The merc had a soft smile on her face and their gazes met as she turned her head around. “Since you already shared, this is the _actual_ first tattoo that I ever got. The one that I said was my first before was the first that I got after… After that XBD.” A deep sigh came from V, and her gentle smile came back a moment after. Which nearly made Judy’s heart melt. “But today’s supposed to be a fun day. So I won’t sit here and dwell on it. Back to the tattoo, so… Yeah, it was the first one I ever got.”

“What’s it say?” That question bore itself into her head as soon as she saw it. 

V held up her head and looked up to the early evening sky, as if looking for the words. _“Cercare l’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle...”_ Judy’s knees faltered at the fluency and pronunciation that V demonstrated. Then her knees were about to completely give up when V turned back to her again, the sun now made her eyes glow a wonderful lavender. “It means: Seek the love that moves the sun and the other stars.”

The merc shrugged. “Know it sounds cheesy, but it’s from a book. _The Divine Comedy_ by Dante Alighieri. Last line of the book. Added the first word myself so it’d make sense when read on it’s own. It’s always something that’s stuck with me.” V let go of the railing and moved closer, her smile being the kindest Judy had ever seen. “Tell you why over a beer sometime.” 

Every part of her wanted to accept the offer. But she knew that she couldn’t. Today’s supposed to be goodbye, in a way. Judy pressed the last key she needed on her computer. “Alright. Let’s get this scroller on ya.” Beside her she could hear V retort. 

“Y’know ya haven’t even asked me if I know how to swim. How do you know if I won’t just sink to the bottom like a bag o’ rocks?” She begged to differ. Seeing V in a wetsuit was a sight for sore eyes, and Judy stirred the longer she stared. 

“Bag of rocks? Come on, don’t sell yourself short.”

V quickly bounced back. “Can’t lie. Lookin’ pretty damn fine in that wetsuit over there.” The statement made her stir a bit more. Now a grin rivaling Rita’s formed on Judy’s face. “Should see me in my MaxTac uniform.” Visible surprise quickly swept over V’s face. “Whoa. _Whoa, whoa, whoa._ Mean _you_ have one?”

“Indeed, I do. Won it in a bet. Still hangs in my closet, waiting for the right… occasion.” She could hear V whisper a couple of curses before recovering. “Gonna hold you to that then.”

Judy closed her laptop and pulled out the shard from its back. Face-to-face now, for an instant she could smell V’s shampoo. Warm and floral, like an open field of flowers basking in the sun. Pushing a piece of the merc’s hair aside, she slotted the shard in, standing back after. “Ok, we’re all set! You go first!” She watched V’s face contort as she looked at the water. Internally, the techie knew she had to intervene.

The lift slowly brought them further and further to the bottom of the lake. Silence loomed over for most of the time, only for it to be finally broken by V. “Just had to push me, didn’t you?” Judy couldn’t help but laugh. “Couldn’t help it. You looked like you needed help, so I helped.” V raised her brow. “If you call that helpin’, I’d hate to see what you’d’ve done for your enemies.” 

With the lift finally coming to a stop, Judy glanced over to see the look of surprise that V had on her face. “Impressive, huh?” 

“That-That’s pretty incredible… What is it?”

Judy swam to be in front of V. “Our very own Atlantis. Used to be called Laguna Bend. Just fifteen years ago, people still lived here.”

V’s face relaxed, her eyes in a state of reminiscence. “I remember. N.C. Dam was involved with it… If I remember correctly. Gotta connection here, don’t you?”

Judy sighed. “You got it. Grew up here. Haven’t been back since it was wiped off the map.”

“Won’t pepper ya with questions why. So let’s do this.” V began swimming and she followed.

Now in front of the old now-underwater diner, Judy began to spill her heart to the only other person who could listen. A person who actually would. “Flo’s diner. Best and _only_ diner in town. Burgers were greasy… too big. But back then, they were the best thing I’d ever chewed and swallowed.” Clanking silverware and varied voices seemed to ring in her ears. 

Next to the diner, stood an old house. Closer and closer, Judy swam toward it, making it all familiar again. “And next door… That’s where we lived. Me and my grandparents. Just let me know when you want to forge ahead.”

She watched V poke around. Almost like she was lost or completely curious, not even remotely close to the level of caution she normally upheld. The merc pointed to the diner sign. “Looks like this fell off your ‘one and only’ eatery.”

Judy closed her eyes. “Now let’s see… Childhood for you tasted like…” Many, many horrible nights of thefting from food stalls or convenience stores. Or ones with no food at all, were what she mostly saw. Finally, Judy managed to sift through it all and find one that was positive, focusing on it. Aromatic smells of fresh, burning pine mixed with the sweet smell of candied fruits and honey, along with the warm smell of coriander and walnuts. Judy didn't recognise anything. “Wha-What’s all of this? Ca-Cava…?”

“Think I know what memory you’re tryin’ to wrestle with. Word you’re lookin’ for is _cavallucci_ . It’s an Italian Christmas pastry. Had this Italian lady named Amedea that lived down the block, looked after me after my mom was gone.” Judy looked at V who was now beside her. “Amedea was like a grandma to me. Taught me how to cook, how to read, and ‘course made me learn Italian too. I bitched at first… Askin’ why I had to, and most of the time she’d say, _‘Qundi smetterai di massacrare i nomi delle mie riecette!’_ Over time I started to enjoy it though. Been tryin’ to get back in the habit of practicin’, though sometimes I use it out of habit.” Almost as clear as day, she could almost see the face of the woman that V reminisced about. Jet-black hair with silver streaks that was kept in a tight bun, eyes the color of an unpolished emerald, and a slender figure. Maybe it’s a side effect.

V had a distant look in her eyes, but she had a smile that Judy couldn’t help but smile at. “Cared about her a lot, didn’t you?” A small laugh came from V. “Yeah, I did. She kept most of me off the street. ‘Course I was a stubborn, trouble-makin’ lil’ shit. _Dio la benedica_ , she tried to put me on a better path. But comin’ from Heywood and the shitty background I did… Wasn’t much that could save me from goin’ down the wrong path.” Clenching her fist, almost feeling the pain the merc had in her heart as she spoke. “What about your parents?” the techie flinched, processing the question.

“Dad was never in the picture. Mom died when I was tiny. Can barely remember her. Still have her picture, but y’know… see a stranger there.” Once she finished, Judy could’ve sworn she heard humming and singing. Calm and lively, it didn’t sound like V at all, it sounded like someone else. 

Seemingly in an instant, the feeling in her heart and head shifted at the same time. Pain, lots and lots of pain, on the outside there’s happiness but that was just a light coat of paint to cover up what hid within. Rattling and banging drums, the echo of strumming guitars, fingers picking and prodding strings of a heavy bass, and burning lungs from screaming out words people love to listen to and hear, but not actually _listen_ and understand. All of it a cry for help, a beckon and plea, a cacophony of voices piled up. Emotions and reason felt horribly twisted together, no black and white, everything out of control and overgrown, lost without reason. And all at once it disappeared. ‘ _How am I supposed to help people when I can’t even help myself?’_ Those words only a whisper, but they were louder than any of the screams could ever think of being.

“So… What was it like - livin’ with your grandparents? How were they?” The question pulled Judy back to reality. From wherever she was. 

“Grandad had a real knack for things technical. Taught me everything I know. And the stories he told… never got bored of listening to ‘em. And grandma was… temperamental. Hot one second, cold as steel the next.” She glanced to see that V had a shit-eating grin on her face. “Damn. Must be a dominant family trait.” She felt herself clam up a bit. “Got no idea what you’re talkin’ about.” 

The merc reached out her arm, handing her the camera pointed out from earlier. “Here take this, better you have it than it sittin here collecting algae.” Smiling at the gesture, Judy took the camera. “Thanks, ready to move on?” With a nod of V’s head, the two swam further into Laguna Bend.

Unsurprisingly, time seemed to pass in a strange way in this underwater environment, the techie wondered if this is what it’d be like if you were trapped in a snowglobe. Probably would be most likely. Though, who would be able to say for sure? The underwater chapel was more daunting that it ever would have been on dry land. “Church hasn’t aged a bit. Always looked old and… like it landed here from outer space. Bells were cracked too. Gave off this eerie, atonal clang.” As if on a cue, the sound of the bell began to ring. “Weird… I had no memory of that seconds ago. Now I can almost hear ‘em.”

“Th-Think I can hear ‘em too. Don’t know how that’s possible…” Judy glanced over at V. Her statement confirmed her previous doubts. “Seriously? You can hear my memories…? Must be a side effect. Think… Think I heard yours too.”

The merc now seemed slightly pale. _“Gesù Cristo_ , that’s insane. _”_ Judy swam down and tried to tug open the door. “Ah! Closed… Shame.”

“Could look for another way inside if you want.” 

“Be my guest.”

V ended up finding a way through the roof. Once inside, stopping the flood of memories when Judy started swimming through the chapel proved to be a difficult task. “Snuck in here once when no one was around. Stood at the altar and tried to imagine what went through the padre’s mind, lookin’ at all those people.” Behind the altar now, Judy stared at the rows and rows of empty pews, never to be occupied again. “Back then I wondered how he could read people’s thoughts, know everything about ‘em.” She dropped another glow stick to the ground. “Then I screamed at the top of my lungs to check the acoustics.”

“Didn’t get… chased off?” 

“Ran out myself. Echo I got back, scared the living bejesus out of me.” The techie briefly paused, then continued. “Thought it was that crush I had on Jenni Chapman. All that guilt I tried yelling out… flew right back into my face.” 

V screamed. Judy’s heart started to race in her chest at the merc who was convulsing. Judy grabbed the merc’s waist and started to swim, as fast as her body would let her.

No matter how much her body wanted to give up, she didn’t want V to die down here. Too many people already had, and V didn’t need to join them. Not if she could help it.

_-???_

The hammering of her head is all she could feel. No, there was more. Pressure at her chest, numbness in her legs, stiffness in her back. There was a voice. “V! Please…” V barely opened her eyes and saw a familiar figure with pink and green hair, with the moon high in the sky above. “Oh, thank fuck! You’re alive…” Judy grabbed her arm and slipped another at her back, lifting her up. “How’d you manage to get me out?” Out of breath, she crawled over and sat in front of the lounge chair

“Don’t remember. Just did what I had to do.”

“So basically… you saved my life. Heh.. thank you.” The brief exchange was ruined by Johnny bitching again. “Told you this shit was gonna end badly. Toxic waste ain’t exactly good, but ya just don’t fuckin’ listen!” She leaned back, the metal of the lounge chair dug into her back, staring daggers at the old rockerboy. _‘Oh nag, nag, nag. Don’t act like you haven’t made poor decisions yourself!’_

“Think you can also say the same.”

 _‘Really? That low of a blow? Shitty comeback. Couldn’t’ve thought of anything better?_ ’

“Uh… V? Who is that?” V watched Johnny quickly take off his glasses, and she tried to look over at Judy, struggling to make eye contact. “You-You heard him? It’s… It’s Johnny Sliverhand’s construct. Remember the-”

Johnny shook his head and disappeared. “Oh fuck, here we go.”

After the explanation of the events of the heist, Judy looked pale. “Fuck, V… You’re dying? Can you stop it?”

“Got a plan. Well, kinda. I’m tryin’, don’t worry.” She watched Judy pick herself off the ground. “Well, doubt you should be drivin’ after just now… I’m pretty beat too - last thing I wanna do is drive. Let’s stay the night. Whaddya think?” The thought of spending the night under the same roof, mustless the same room as Judy made V’s face uncontrollably burn. Struggling to get off the ground, she gave the other woman an answer. “Why the hell… not?”

V moved her feet as much as her body would let her. Voices went through her head, both Judy’s and Evelyn’s, she started the generator. She shouted at Judy, saying that the power’s on, only to be met, only to be met with Judy whispering something she couldn’t quite catch. Then she saw the words ‘CONNECTION LOST’ across her view. Running up to the bungalow, she didn’t want to assume the worst, but she couldn’t stop from assuming the worst.

In front of the bathroom door, V gently knocked. “What was that? Couldn’t hear you clearly. Something the matter?”

“No, nothing.” Judy’s tone was blunt. Gently, V slid open the door. The first thing that she saw was a wetsuit-less Judy sitting on the rim of the bathtub. Sitting down beside her, V attempted to try and comfort her. Emphasis on try. “You thinkin’ about Evelyn?”

“Clouds has… gone to shit. Tyger Claw nonecks too revenge for Hiromi and the rest. There was a firefight.” Judy’s neck craned down, her words just starting to spill out. “Tom’s dead. Roxanne barely got out alive… House’s closed until further notice.” V brought her neck back slightly as the techie sat up straight. “Rather not talk or think about it. I didn’t wanna tell you… Wanted this to just be our day…” Both of them were now close enough to feel each other’s breath. “I-I wanted…”

Her face was on fire, V quickly figured that she was probably six different shades of red. Mustering what strength she could, the merc gently placed her hand on Judy’s cheek. V smiled, hoping that it would hide how embarrassed she probably looked. “It is. I mean consi-” The distance between them closed. Now locked in a tender kiss with Judy, the merc closed her eyes, both of them pulling away a moment after. She met the techie’s gaze, her eyes were filled with desire.

Judy’s hand grabbing her own, pulling her off the edge of the bathtub. Slowly being led along, her brain drowned her in her own shyness with a bit of confusion. Eventually it went away with every kiss. Feeling a pull down at her stomach, it was Judy pulling at her wetsuit. 

“Take it off.” Her voice raspy, impatient. With a bit of struggle, V managed to remove the wetsuit. Free of the wetsuit, Judy snaked her arms around her pulling her in again, a heated exchange of kisses between them. 

Though it took sometime, V glanced down at the other woman’s naked body under hers. In a swift, gentle motion, the merc traced her tongue from the base of Judy’s neck all the way to her jawline. Then softly biting her earlobe. She let out a soft noise that flared V’s desire, the desire to hear it again. With a bit of effort on her own part and one hand, she managed to. Tenfold.

Time passed by again, the two now laid beside each other. Judy waved her cigarette, the merc grabbed her lighter and lit it. She looked up to the techie who was now sitting in her lap, V gently ran her hands down Judy’s sides. After a puff of a cigarette, the distance between their lips closed again. V observed the sly smile on the other woman’s face, the cigarette they shared now being passed off to her. Their lips met one more time before Judy ran her hands down her chest, lips following suit, though her lips trailed down further. V leaned her head back against the wall.

And time seemed to fly by once again.

_-The Bungalow, early morning._

V opened her eyes, only to see that she woke to an empty bed, alone. Her head still reeled the events of last night in her head like one of those old, _old_ films, all the while struggling to catch her breath. Sliding to the end of the bed, her first thought was to find her clothes. 

Now that her clothes were on, her previous thought is immediately replaced with finding where Judy went. Thanks to the small size of the immediate area, that didn’t take long. 

“Will ya sit with me awhile? Here’s your coffee. Finally.” V took the invitation offered and sat down. “Mornin’.” Grabbing the coffee cup, she turned her attention to Judy. “So… yesterday… What was that, exactly?” Tequila levels of burning picked at her chest and ears. “Don’t remember, or you want me to remind you?” Judy flicked her cigarette into the lake and nearly stared daggers at her. “You know exactly what I’m tryna say. What did it mean, like, to you?” 

The question almost felt like a stab to the heart. V racked her brain. A relationship with Judy is something, especially in recent memory, that she’s wanted desperately. At this point, the only thing that stops her is fear, the fear of hurting someone that she cares about in the end. That alone made her regret her recent choices, but the merc remembers how much fear has made her lose. If she could help it, this was going to be the first thing that she wouldn’t dare let it take. No matter how much she has to fight for it.

“I mean-I think… Ugh, _merda_ I’m bad at this. I hope that it was the beginning of somethin’ nice. Unless you see things differently… ‘cause y’know, I’m a bit of a trainwreck.” V slightly jumped when she could feel Judy's breath on her neck, her head resting on her shoulder. “Can be such a gonk sometimes… Ruined my plans, you know that? Was gonna leave Night City in the dust for good. Even started packin’, but now I think… Think I gotta stay.”

Leaning her head against the top of Judy’s, she sighed. “Gotta make it up to ya then.” A kiss to her neck made chills run like wildfire down her spine. “Mhm. That would be appropriate.” The merc shifted as the other woman did, Judy held out her hand. “Give me your hand, V.” V semi-willingly gave Judy her hand. “All set, congrats. Just gave you unlimited access to my pad.”

“Whoa - hey now - _wait a minute_ , yo-you askin’ me to move in or somethin’?”

“I-If it’s what you want. Or just drop by when the urge grabs you.”

“Um, you sure? I mean this isn’t exactly a small thing… this.”

“I like you. Wanna see you lots… Way I see it, there isn’t anything else to consider.” The words ‘I like you’ coming from Judy made V’s heart spin. “I like you too. So… Don’t think I’d wanna consider anything else.” After sharing a kiss between them, a loud deafening crash could be heard. To her dismay and despair, V saw that her vehicle was the victim. The perpetrator being a familiar Delamain cab. 

“BEEP BEEP, MOTHERFUCKER!” Just as quickly as it had arrived, the cab disappeared. A decent-sized dust cloud left in the car’s wake.

V placed her face into her hands, dragging them away quickly after. She put one of them up in the air. “Before you ask… Don’t. I’ll explain later. Mind givin’ me a ride back, please?” She felt Judy gently place her head back onto her shoulder.

“Only if you can handle stayin’ here with me awhile.” 

The merc laughed. “Think I can handle that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG ITS FINISHEDDD. I'm so happy I actually managed to finish this. Just wanna say, this isn't the last you'll see of me. I'm currently sorting out an AU fic and a few oneshots. But I'll be taking a break for a bit though. Lastly, I just want to thank everyone so, so much for all of the support that they've shown. I appreciate it a lot, and I'm very glad that I could write a story that some people were able to enjoy. Thank you all again!
> 
> Deuces,
> 
> QRTZ

**Author's Note:**

> Ohh honeyyy~ I'm here, back at it again. I've been playing Cyberpunk and I couldn't help myself, so here's my own artistic interpretation of Judy's side quests from Cyberpunk and perhaps some other random fluff after he missions portion. Depending on how things go. So yeah, let's do this.
> 
> P.S: Panam do be fine, but Judy is best girl.


End file.
